Spring Clean Your Foot Care

Now is the time to spring clean your foot care!

At this time of year, many of us start thinking about spring cleaning our houses. But it’s also a great time to think about spring cleaning your foot care too.

Here are some of our top tips for updating and spring cleaning your foot care.

• Keep your shoes fresh! If you can, try to wear your footwear on rotation. Wearing the same pair of shoes every day allows moisture to build up in the fabric, which can encourage fungal spores to thrive. Wear different shoes on different days, and when not wearing shoes, open them up as far as possible to allow moisture to evaporate, and keep them in a bright spot if possible. Remember – the fungus that causes athlete’s foot loves warm, dark and damp environments. You can also keep the little packets of silicone beads that come in packaging when you buy something new. These are great for absorbing moisture. Just pop a few in your shoes after wearing.

• Use an antifungal spray in your shoes regularly. We advise something like Daktarin powder spray, or Clinisept spray, which we stock in clinic. Both are good for keeping fungal spores at bay on surfaces like shoe fabric.

• Start to include regular home foot care into your schedule now, to have sandal ready feet. Using a good, urea-based moisturiser daily (ideally before bed so it has plenty of time to soak into the skin without being rubbed off by socks and shoes) will help skin to be in the best condition it can be.

• If you haven’t already, get your regular Podiatry appointments booked in, to get any niggling problems sorted out. Often, the sooner treatment is started, the easier it is to treat any problems.

• Get into the habit of checking your feet regularly. We have this conversation so often in clinic, when people don’t realise they have an issue with their feet. Let’s face it. How often do we all sit down and really pay attention to our feet, unless they are really hurting? Not many of us I bet! But it is always helpful to keep an eye on them. If lifting your leg and turning your foot isn’t easy due to mobility, asking a family member to check for you, or using a mirror can help.

• Spring clean your sock collection! We’re not suggesting you get rid of all your socks, far from it! But spring-cleaning time is a great time to really take stock of what you have in the way of socks, tights etc. It could be that some are worn, or if you tend to get some swelling or oedema in your feet, that the elastic at the top of the sock may now be too tight. Try replacing any worn or unsuitable socks with some made of natural fibres like bamboo, wool or cotton, and if you suffer with swelling in the legs, some with soft tops. We stock a range of different socks in clinic.

If you need any help or advice with your foot care, then by all means get in touch and see how we can help you.