Some of the simple pleasures of life include taking your shoes and socks off after a long day of work or running errands.
There is a general calming effect when one can finally take a load off and feel a gentle breeze running through their feet.
However, some people have been robbed of this feeling because of the insecurities one feels from having dry feet. One develops the constant need to be in socks to avoid that kind of environment.
The following are some simple measures one can take to make your feet softer.
- Identify the symptoms
- Find the cause of the problem
- Start the treatment process
- Monitor closely
1
Identify the Symptoms
Whenever the problem of dry feet is developing, there are certain symptoms that one will notice.
The first is the formation of thick callus tissue that in most cases will be discolored. This tends to start close to the heel of your foot. When this goes unattended for a prolonged period of time, you may start to experience pain and develop cracks in the heel of your foot.
These are the most common symptoms of dry feet. Other symptoms include redness, cracks, peeling of the skin, itchiness and roughness.
2
Find the Cause of the Problem
Unlike the first step, finding the cause of the problem may not be as obvious. Many factors may lead to dry feet. The most common is lack of proper moisturization.
There are no oil glands in our feet, therefore, the skin relies solely on sweat glands for moisturization required to keep your feet soft and supple. When you are not well hydrated or when it is relatively cold, the rate at which one sweat reduces.
Other causes of dry feet may include cold weather, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity, use of soaps that dry the skin and aging.
If you are unable to come up with an accurate diagnosis, it is important to seek medical advice. Without a proper diagnosis, it is impossible to know which treatment will work best.
3
Start the Treatment Process
As seen above, the treatment process will depend on the cause of the problem. If the dry feet are being caused by lack of moisture, you will need to spend a little more time on your feet every day. The following are steps you should take to restore the natural look and feel of your feet.
First, you should clean your feet by scrubbing the affected areas gently in circular motion to get rid of the dead skin. The scrubbing can be done using a soft brush or pumice stones. It is important to note that it may not be possible to get rid of all the dead skin in one day, so do not overdo it. For the best results, it is recommended to soak your feet in warm water with freshly squeezed lemon juice for five to ten minutes before scrubbing them.
When this is done, dry your feet with a towel and apply a generous amount of lotion on them. Vegetable fat and Vaseline have also proved to be effective when used to moisturize dry skin. Either of them can be used for this purpose. Moisturization should be done immediately after drying when the pores on the skin are still open for maximum absorption.
Third, one should then wear socks to lock in the moisture. The socks should be kept on overnight.
In addition, you should try to stay away from overexposure to the sun or to heaters and such. Too much heat causes the skin to dry up much faster which eventually leads to recurrence of the problem. You should try to ensure that there is a fair amount of humidity in your environment. I would also recommend custom insoles for your shoes. This will help distribute your weight evenly across the foot when walking or running. This should help ease the problem of cracks forming as a result of excessive pressure.
4
Monitor Closely
This is the easiest part of the process. All you will need to do is to monitor the process to see whether or not you are getting better.
Most of the treatments take time. There is no quick fix to this kind of problem. However, if there is no improvement after a week or so, it means that the problem might be more serious. You should visit a doctor immediately.
In case the problem has is very severe and you need medical attention, one should look for a podiatrist.
Most people tend to think that they should see a dermatologist since it’s a skin problem, but a podiatrist is more qualified to handle this specific situation.
Dry feet do not also mean that you should visit your pedicurist more often. As mentioned above, there are numerous causes for dry feet, many of which a pedicurist will not be in a position to solve.
Conclusion
Having gone through this myself, I felt the need to share this information with anyone who may be going through the same thing without knowing what to do.
Remember, nothing happens overnight. You have to be patient because this process is gradual. I hope you enjoyed this piece.
Have any comments? I would love to hear them! Kindly leave any thoughts you may have on this topic in the section below.