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Foot Care During Monsoon

Arrival of rain and monsoon gives us joy and much needed relief from dry hot summer. But monsoon is always accompanied with a lot of humidity, sweating, stickiness and moisture all around. The moist environment is very good media for growth of fungi and moulds. Fungi can be the cause of fungal infection anywhere in the skin surface. The initial fungal infection can invite secondary bacterial infection which can travel to deeper tissues leading to damage and decaying called necrosis of deeper tissues like fascia and ligaments.
One needs to be careful during monsoon for their general health, like eating habits, personal hygiene and sanitation. As skin diseases are common during monsoon. One needs to take extra care of their feet, because it is a common place to have fungal infection. Fungal infection of feet is also called as Athlete's foot. Moist, smelly feet are other common conditions one comes across during monsoon.
Common source of dampness and moisture in feet during monsoon is because of excessive sweating, wearing wet shoes for hours after exposing shoes to dirty water, while walking on roads full of stagnated water and poor personal hygiene.

Diabetes Patients Must Be Aware

In India there are more than 50 million people having diabetes. There are about 40,000 amputations every year because of diabetes in India. As everybody knows wound healing is delayed in diabetics, so diabetic patients should protect their feet from any kind of trauma, infection or any other insult. Half of the amputations are because of negligence or because of casual attitude of people about preventive diabetic foot care. Nearly 60% of diabetic have decreased or complete loss of sensation in the feet called as numbness or neuropathy. Patient may complain of burning, tingling, numbness, crawling of insect like feeling in feet or walking in a mattress like feeling which are an indicator of weakness of nerves carrying sensation for pain, touch, temperature, position and vibration. Irritability of nerves gives above mentioned symptoms to the patient For diabetic patients it becomes very important to take care of their feet, as rightly said "if you have diabetes, take care of your feet as you take care of your face". Diabetic patients should be more careful about their feet during Monsoon as small fungal infection if neglected may invite secondary bacterial infection which may travel down to deeper facial planes of feet leading to severe tissue damage which may even require amputation.

Foot care tips During Monsoon

• Never walk bare foot.
• Practice daily foot care. Wash your feet with warm water and a mild soap. Wash the feet with an antiseptic after returning to home if you have been out in the showers. Scrubbing them makes certain all of that the soil is cleaned away.
• Thoroughly dry feet with a clean towel. Use a moisturizing lotion to help prevent dryness. Avoid moisturizing the areas between the toes
• Just as you wash the feet, wash the flip flops. Wear open shoes and flip flops during rain if possible. Do not wear same shoes daily. Try to give sun exposure to shoes on holiday so that the moisture and dampness inside it is taken care of.
• Purchase your shoes in the afternoon, when your feet are at their largest size. The useful life of a running shoe is 450 to 600 miles. This means that if you are running 15 miles a week, you should consider changing your running shoes after 35 to 40 weeks.
• Change socks every day that are clean and which draw the moisture away from your feet. Cotton socks with acrylic blend are best. Change socks daily or even more frequently if they become damp.
• Trim toenails often. Always cut toenails straight across leaving them a little longer at the corners. Use nail clippers to make neat cuts. Do not cut too close or tear away a nail with your fingers or dull scissors. Finish the edge with a nail file.
• Examine your feet regularly. Check for cuts, scrapes, bruises, calluses, or corns. Swelling or redness may be signs of infection. If signs of fungal infection are present like redness, itching, dry and scaling of skin, go to podiatrist or physician who can prescribe antifungal cream or powder.
• Do not try any kind of bathroom surgery by your own go to a Podiatrist for any underlying condition.
• Your feet need plenty of exercise to maintain good circulation, they also need proper rest.