Crusty Feet Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
Having crusty feet can be quite embarrassing and annoying. This is more than just a cosmetic problem.
Hence ensuring that your feet are properly taken care of is important not just for looking great during sandal season but throughout.
Symptoms
Symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the extent of exposure to the causes and lack of proper care.
Symptoms include:
- dryness of the skin on your feet
- development of a thick, discolored callus tissues
However, if this condition is left untreated over long periods, it could potentially lead to the development of other symptoms as noted in foot wiki
- deep cracks
- itchiness
- pain
- infections in the deep cracks
- bleeding in the affected areas
- peeling of skin
- redness under the skin
Causes
Crusty feet are a common problem among people of all ages and the major cause is lack of proper moisturization in addition to the following, notes home remedies and foot wiki
- Friction against the insoles of your shoes
- Use of harsh soaps
- Cold weather
- Walking barefoot
- Wearing the wrong footwear
- With age, the rate at which our skins lose moisture increases which could potentially lead to crustiness
- Low humidity caused by heating systems drying out air can lead to this problem.
- Yes, being overweight to some degree can cause crustiness due to the extra pressure put on your feet
- Diseases and conditions such as eczema, dermatitis among others
- Aging
Good news is having crusty feet doesn’t have to be a permanent problem.
Pictures
Home Remedies
First things first, you need to understand that some people naturally have dry feet but this does not mean they will automatically get crusty: all they need to do is to take proper care of them and moisturize often.
However, if you are suffering from dry, crusty feet there are a myriad of remedies and treatment solutions to get rid of the problem.
1. Soak them once in a while
Soaking them 15-20 minutes before moisturizing or exfoliating. However, do not overdo soaking as this will lead to a decrease in moisture on the outer layer of your skin.
You can opt to use different solutions to soak your leg such as:
- a solution of baking soda, some warm water, and vinegar
- just mild soaps and warm water
- lemon juice
- A cup of white vinegar diluted with some warm water.
2. Exfoliate your feet
Exfoliating removes the outer dead layer of your skin thus ensuring that you can treat the skin layer underneath. You can either opt for a stiff brush, pumice stone or loofah after soaking them to exfoliate.
3. Always moisturize:
Once you have exfoliated your skin, it is important to moisturize it. It is advisable to moisturize always after taking a shower or soaking and apply a non-alcoholic based moisturizer to hold and seal in moisture in your skin. Olive oil, coconut oil, and creams such as Cetaphil and Eucerin are perfect for trapping moisture notes wiki how. Afterward, it is advisable to slip into a pair of cotton socks.
4. Use therapeutic Oils
Non-alcoholic based therapeutic oils are best to use to treat crusty feet as compared to alcoholic based ones, as these tend to dry out the skin further thus exacerbating the problem.
Non-alcoholic based oils include baby oils, coconut oil, and olive oil.
Coconut oil is essential when it comes to treating this problem because it moisturizes and fights off bacterial and fungal infections on your feet notes foot wiki.
5. Glycerin
Use of glycerin as a home remedy for the treatment is very effective: this is because apart from having an amazing ability to moisturize them, it also contains humectants properties.
All you need to do is mix the same amount of glycerin and lemon juice and apply on your feet, leave it for 10-20 minutes before washing it off.
However, if none of these treatments work, kindly make an appointment with a doctor or podiatrist for help.
How to prevent crusty feet
Wiki how and foot vitals offer the following tips to prevent future occurrence of this crustiness.
- Talk to your podiatrist or doctor for the best advice on over the counter products such as lotions, moisturizers, and creams that work to treat this condition.
- Avoid scratching the area if you feel itchy instead you can put ice packs on the area for some minutes to relieve the pain.
- Constantly moisturize after showering or soaking them and afterward wear a pair of cotton socks.
- Avoid washing your feet too much using bubble baths or fragrant soaps as this will dry them out thus leading to them being crusty
- Hydrate: Staying hydrated is important because your skin requires moisture. Drinking water ensures that your skin remains hydrated, nourished and moisturized.
- Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages as they tend to exasperate itchiness in the affected areas.
- Ensure that your preferred shoe choice gives your feet some room to breathe.