Any foot health experts around? I need advice.

[ihatethecold]

I have quite a few foot health problems and I'm getting a bit fed up with it all.

I have athletes foot/cracked skin in between 2 toes. Using cream especially for that.

I have a fungal nail infection. Improving with curanail.

I have a type of excema on my foot that randomly spreads in dots around my foot, sometimes on the palm of my hands aswell. Using fucidin H to treat that.

I also have a painful ball joint that gets worse with walking or exercise. I can't bend the toe with out pain.

I don't have sweaty feet, shower everyday and always have clean socks, I don't wear shoes without socks.

What else can I do to help?

Tee tree oil revolutionised my foot problems, along with lots and lots of air time. It was sandles all the way for months. Amazing stuff tee tree...

Hello,
l am a 51 year old woman. I work In aged care. l am always on my feet, in a shift depending what wing l work in l can walk between 10,000 to 17,000 steps per shift at times up to 5 hours on my feet non stop.
l wear good quality shoes design for nurses that are on their feet for long periods. l still come home from work with aching throbbing feet. When l wake up in the morning it aches 10 times worse and very sore can anybody please give me some advice on how l go about getting this soreness fixed.
Rose

Have you high jacked my thread rose?

I think maybe she has ,but I was always doing that until I got used to how things work .

hatethecold sounds like a lot going on ,grim . And I dont know what suggest...see a podiatrist ? GP definitely .

There's a poster on MN ,FluffyCloudland77 ,or something like that who is a chiropodist and very helpful . I think she often posts in Pets or litter tray ,can't remember classification .If I find it I'll post .

Rose ...tough one .
Are your shoes lace ups ? Are they really supportive ?

My feet have survived some tough stuff by wearing wool socks and lace up shoes .

I'm in my 60's and have always avoided wool because I'm an itchy person plus I thought they'd be too hot .
But they're great and I'm a real convert .

Sorry not to be more help .

Your painfull ball joint and toe sounds like mine, which turned out to be a simple hallux rigidus (stiff big toe). Saw a podiatrist who put me in 'neutral' orthotics (inserts to go in shoes to return feet to a natural position) which I wore for a couple of years. Not had any problems since.

If left, it may have caused further issues later down the line as it was causing me to change my gait (did a gait analysis) and was already affecting the way I was using my left leg. This can have consequences for knee/hip joints later on.

Get a chiropodist or podiatrist to have a look.

thanks gobbin

I developed ostheo arthritis in my feet I. My thirties and was told I could have an operation to fix it. I was also told hat better shoes would fix it. I did a lot of research as I could not find anything good that looked ok. Found Dansko shoes in the US. I have never had that operation because the shoes have stopped the arthritis from getting any worse. They are better than anything I have ever worn before.

Rose have you tried lying on your back on your bed with your legs elevated, up to 90 degrees, for a while when you come home from work?

OP am just a layperson but (for the eczema and infections) any chance of sun and salt water now it's summer? or if I were you I would soak nightly in a solution of Tidman's sea salt for baths. I get mine from Sainsburys, it's about £2.50. I use it for my arthritis (hip), but it should help with all your issues.

thanks rootypig.

ive bought some tea tree oil today. so im going to try that first.

Canestan is often a good cream for athletes foot though you might want to get it diagnosed properly as it could be eczema/psoriasis.

Pain in the foot when waking could be Plantar Fasciitis. Again this needs to be properly diagnosed by a professional and they can give you good stretching exercises to do to help relieve it.

Pain in the joints of the foot are usually caused by arthritis but again should be seen by a professional as they can be a symptom of various problems most of which are fairly easy to remedy.

For most skin conditions of the feet they are usually dramatically helped by sunshine, salt water and sand so a good long barefoot walk on the beach will help though can also cause frostbite in the UK. Fungal infections like to be dark, warm and damp so fresh air, sunlight and keeping cool will help to aleviate the symptoms.

As for footwear I would always reccommend a decent pair of trainers above anything else. they are designed to keep your feet in the correct position as well as giving shock absorbtion help to your knees and hips.

Ok
I would recommend Lamasil for the fungal infections. The skin condition you describe as little red dots probably needs a skin scraping from the nurse at your GP practice to rule out fungus.
Stick with the curanail, I can takes years but often works with persistence. Don't wear nail varnish over the top of it.
For the pain in the joint it sounds like Hallux limitus rather than an Hallux rigidus. You ought to see a musculoskeletal Podiatrist. With the right orthoses (a type of insert) you can massively improve your pain levels.

rose22 it certainly sounds as though you have some inflammation in your feet, particularly as you have morning pain.
Here's what to do:
Daily calf stretches (look them up on YouTube)
Stop going barefoot
Wear shoes with a small height difference between the rear foot and the forefoot (rear foot higher)
Roll a cold can over the arch of your feet in the morning and at night
Invest in a pair of orthoses.
Takes some anti-inflammatories for a week, if you are medically able to
If all else fails a night splint will be your best friend.

If anyone has foot health problems may I suggest that they see a Chiropodist/Podiatrist/Physiotherapist for expert advice.
This will ensure that the problem is diagnosed correctly and the appropriate treatment given before the situation deteriorates.

What jane says is true. Rose22 - sounds like plantar fasciitis. I have just been diagnosed, its very painful and you need a combination of stretching, anti-inflammatories, taping, night splints, the list goes on and it can take a very long time to heal as well. 3 months to well over a year. Yuk. Get thee to a podiatrist.