If you love your feet, you should take care of them. But the supporting pillars of the human body are often neglected. Not only optical impairments such as calluses and fissures are possible consequences, but also more serious damage such as ingrown nails or athlete’s foot.
Foot care for diabetics
In diabetics and other chronically ill patients, lack of care can lead to serious foot damage. Nerve damage resulting from diabetes means that diabetics often do not notice wounds on their feet until they are particularly deep and have already caused damage. In addition, the circulatory disorders associated with the disease delay or prevent the healing process.
Therefore, preventive care is particularly important for those affected. Medical foot care, such as professional removal of calluses, treatment of dry skin, ingrown nails and athlete’s foot, is paid for by statutory health insurers for diabetics.
The prerequisite for this is that the changes to the foot are a consequence of the underlying disease and that without medical foot care there will be consequential damage such as inflammation and disturbances in wound healing. If there is already damage to the foot, these may not be treated by the chiropodist.
Medical chiropodist as a specialist profession
By the way, podiatrists are only allowed to carry out a prescribed therapy if they have special training, practice equipment and authorization to do so. For this purpose, the terms “medical chiropodist” and “podiatrist” have been protected by law since 2003.
The training to become a medical chiropodist (podiatrist) is now anchored in law and includes two years of training, a fixed examination regulation and a corresponding training qualification. The profession is thus just as much a part of the health professions as, for example, physiotherapy or occupational therapy.
9 tips for proper foot care
Even if you are not particularly at risk: Do something good for yourself and take care of your feet. Not only make sure you have suitable footwear, but also include your daily companions in your daily care regimen.
- Help the blood circulation of your feet with cold-warm alternating baths. The temperature of the foot bath should not exceed 38 ° C.
- A lukewarm foot bath with essential additives supports your feet: camphor, peppermint or rockweed increase blood circulation, arnica has a relaxing effect, horsetail, ribwort or coltsfoot help against inflammation. Bath salts should only be used if the skin is not cracked and is healthy all around. Are you prone to sweaty feet? Then give strong sage tea to the water.
- Then a foot cream nourishes the skin and prevents drying and cracking.
- If you are prone to athlete’s foot, massage your feet more often with thyme or tea tree oil.
- Back calluses best with a pumice stone or similar to the fight. Renounce against injury-prone objects such as corneal planes.
- Shorten your toenails with a file rather than scissors – file them not too short and straight, with slightly rounded corners.
- Walk barefoot as often as you can. This trains your arch (and incidentally helps against sweaty feet).
- Put in between unaccustomed gait – on the heels or the outer edges. Stand on your toes in the morning and evening while brushing your teeth.
- Anyone who has foot complaints such as pain always in the same place, skin changes, redness or swelling, should have these clarified by an orthopedist. Often orthopedic insoles help to correct foot malpositions and alleviate the discomfort.
Walking barefoot is good for the feet
Barefoot running promotes blood circulation and strengthens the muscles. You do not have to be afraid of injuries – as a rule, the feet are well protected.
If you get involved, you can rediscover the ancient art of locomotion on foot on one of the man-made barefoot trails. Here you can experience your surroundings through your feet on sand, clay, in mud, in water or while walking over round pebbles, and at the same time train your own mobility. Balance and coordination skills are stressed as well as skin and foot muscles.
