Summer can mean sandals and bare feet. It can be great to get out of those shoes and let the feet breathe. However, it is one of the main causes of callused and cracked heels.
When we walk bare feet and in sandals, the body tries to protect itself by building up hard skin. If we continue to walk barefoot or wear sandals, the hard skin builds up further, forming a thick callus.
This thick callus is not as elastic and flexible as healthy skin and can crack, forming painful fissures. These cracks consist of layers of dead skin and, once these develop, it becomes hard for the body to heal the fissures.
Treatment – There are various ways to intervene:
- prevention – Prevention is the hardest one, as it involves trying to wear socks and shoes as often as possible
- general podiatry – In the warmer weather socks and closed shoes may not be an option, so we can try to regularly file or scrub the heels to reduce the build-up, plus apply moisturising creams daily. There are creams made specifically for cracked heels
- callus removal – Once the heels become cracked, it can be hard for these to resolve and the callus may need to be removed. At Sydney’s Bio Allied Health, our podiatrists can gently trim the callus away and file off any dryness, then advise you on the suitable creams to try to keep the callus under control.
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