Foot Pain:
When Our Feet Hurt, We Hurt All Over

Just like any other part of the body, genes, poor habits, bad hygiene, carelessness, lack of awareness or a combination of all these factors causes problems for our feet. Chances are, all of us have experienced how inconvenient and disabling an aching foot can be.  We can opt to live with these problems but it would make more sense to take preventive measures and have healthy feet.

Here are some of the more common feet problems and what you can do to prevent or cure them:

Dry and cracked heels -- Have you ever needed to attend a function wherein you had to wear your favorite stiletto pairs and though the shoes were supposed to make you feel glamorous, how could you, the soles of your feet were dry and cracking?

Dry feet are very common. However, if we don't attend to it, it will most likely exacerbate and we would end up with skin so thick and dry, it's cracking. Worse, if still left unattended, we could end up with an infection. Bacteria can easily creep in the openings.

What we can do is to commit to a daily or weekly routine of soaking, scrubbing and moisturizing. It's as easy as that.

Heel pain - The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons states that every mile we walk puts 60 tons of stress on each of our foot. Strenuous activity and wearing the wrong shoes can further irritate sensitive tissues leading to painful heels.

Poor circulation -- A sure sign that our feet are experiencing poor circulation is if they hurt while resting or walking, or if they are swollen and lacking in sensation. One way to prevent this is to exercise.

Corns and calluses -- They are thick layers of skin that are caused by excessive rubbing or pressure on a single spot. The usual culprit is prolonged wear of ill-fitting shoes

Blisters -- Like the formation of corns and calluses, blisters appear when footwear keeps rubbing the same spot.

Ingrown toenails -- They occur when the edge of the toenail grows into the skin. This can be quite painful. This is the reason why we should make it a habit to cut our toenails straight.

Bunions -- They occur when the bones near the base of a slanting big toe grows big. What we can do is to minimize wearing those pointy shoes. Unfortunately, bunions are sometimes genetic.

Plantar Warts -- A virus causes these. What can we do? Keep our feet clean!

Hammertoes -- They are often genetically caused, specifically through diabetic nerve-damage. The foot muscle grows weak causing the tendons in the foot to become shorter and the toes to curl. However, wearing tight or ill-fitting shoes can exacerbate hammertoes.

Athlete's foot -- This is commonly caused by a fungus and induces redness and skin cracking. One thing we can do to prevent this is to be hygienic and keep our feet clean.

These are not all that can ail our feet. At the end of the day, what matters is that we are taking precautions to prevent these conditions from happening to our own. Hygiene and grooming routines are not only essential but are common sense.

Information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not be interpreted as financial or legal advice. This does not represent a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Please consult your financial advisor.