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Original poster

Why do ALL shoes hurt my feet :(

54 replies

fluffles · 07/04/2011 09:19

Grrr i am Angry and Sad again as i am every spring time that ALL shoes hurt my feet.

I am happy in winter in boots or occassionally trainers with thick socks but i seem to spend ALL summer with bleeding open wounds on my feet Sad

today i'm trying ballet flats with a small ankle strap under trousres but i'm sure i'll be blistered on my heel, even my birkies rub me on the top of my foot where the strap is.. plasters (even compede) never seem to stick to my feet and just bunch up and make it worse.

do i just need to suck it up and be brave? will my feet harden to it if i can just bear the pain? why do i see women all over the city wearing actual shoes without tears in their eyes?

OP posts:
nappydaysagain · 07/04/2011 09:31

I can totally sympathise. Lots of shoes hurt my feet too apart from boots. I bought some birkies a couple of years ago (everyone said they were the comfiest shoes over) and they were agony where the strap goes. I felt like they were brusing my feet. I did persavere though and they did get very comfy (3rd year this summer though so dreading if I need to bed some more in).

I have a very narrow ankle which means I can't wear anything without a strap to keep it on (no lovely ballet pumps for me). I'm also barely a 3 and probably only a 2 1/2.

Sorry no advice but just wanted to say you aren't alone with this problem Smile.

TheProvincialLady · 07/04/2011 09:36

What are you wearing with the shoes? I blister if I wear ballet shoes without socks or tights.

Lots of sandals need a bit of perseverence before they become really comfortable. And lots of women are prepared to have painful, knackered, ugly feet in the name of fashion.

thomasbodley · 07/04/2011 09:41

I get this too.

Things that make it better:

1 Wear your new shoes with socks indoors for a few days to soften and slightly stretch the upper.

2 Go to the Scholl stand in Boots and stock up on things like Party Feet, Sore Spots, gel insoles etc

3 Rub John Frieda Frizz Ease all over the inside of the new shoes and also all over the areas of your feet that get particularly sore (my dad runs cross-country and his running club all do this).

  1. Rub surgical spirit over the soles of your feet before bed every day. You may get cracked heels but you won't get blisters.
Ephiny · 07/04/2011 11:21

I am just the same, anything other than trainers with socks gives me blisters or cuts/grazes that bleed. I have no idea how all those women walk around all day looking all smart and feminine in 'proper' shoes and no socks, and are not crying with pain. I do have a pair of 'hiking sandals' (I know, I know) that are OK for pottering around in the summer but still wouldn't wear them for very long walks as the straps start to rub eventually.

I started a thread a while ago where I was looking for formal shoes that didn't make me bleed, and people made some good suggestions for more soft/comfortable brands, though I haven't got around to actually buying anything yet.

miche8 · 07/04/2011 11:58

i find when a shoe starts to rub i stop wearing it for a couple of days let the area heal and then try again, and gradually my feet get used to them - if i let the area get too sore it takes forever to heal and my other previously comfy shoes also irritate the area. I wear new shoes around the house for a couple of hours at a time over a couple of weeks. I do find cheaper shoes rip my feet to shreds.

Birkies are comfy once you wear them in, but i agree it feels like they are bruising the top of my foot.

Also i found those fitflops didn't give me a problem and they are toe post ones.

Have a few pairs from clarks and have never had problems - although theres not a great choice if you want something fairly on trend.

Original poster
fluffles · 07/04/2011 12:10

does the surgical spirit thing work then?? i might try that... have already tried vaseline and have some 'body glide' for running so might try that too...

around this time of year i generally start trying to wear shoes with tights in the hope that i can move to shoes/sandals without tights in high summer but often never get there... i have some teva sandals (yuck) which i wear on holiday and camping etc. and they are comfy but they're too ugly for wearing in town and def. not for work.

i cycle to and from work so it's not like i'm walking very far either...

OP posts:
PinkOlives · 07/04/2011 12:17

im the same, i blister in everything! even some trainers. i love birkenstocks but they are also too wide for me and i feel i have to grip on to them which aches me. the strap at the top means i have some bruising on the top of my foot, thickens the skin, not nice. converses cut my feet to shreds im really scared to go out now in something other than boots or uggs Blush
ballet flats are a no no here too!
for the summer i do look for narrower trendy sandals that have ankle straps, like gladiators, but are made well for the pavement pounding, but its still spring and i still need to be a bit warm
im interested to know how the frizz ease works??
im reluctant to start wearing special scholl shoes so early on in life lol Grin

MadreInglese · 07/04/2011 12:19

my friend swears by that spray-on non-rub anti-blister stuff, I think it's by vaseline

MadreInglese · 07/04/2011 12:20

or it might be scholl

Original poster
fluffles · 07/04/2011 13:52

ok. i've bought surgical spirit... will report back in a week or two.. (if this weather persists, if it bloody snows again i'll be back in my boots Grin)

OP posts:
nappydaysagain · 07/04/2011 15:10

Pinkolives - you can also buy birkinstocks in a narrow fitting. I got mine online but I'm sure some shops will do them.

gramercy · 07/04/2011 15:15

Me too.

I wince at the mere thought of a toe post.

Last year I wore Clarks "Un" sandals - un for unstructured - means they have no joins in them to rub. Joy of joy I wore them all summer with no ill-effects. Granted I couldn't wear them to a ball but for walking backwards and forwards to school they did the job.

acumenin · 07/04/2011 15:20

I have Guat (sticky bar) mary janes. They may not be fashionable but by god they are comfortable. I can't face other shoes now.

cruelladepoppins · 07/04/2011 19:31

Oh god, horrible uncomfy shoes. This is why I tend to wear socks and tights with mine. Also find that a plain leather lining in a cornish pasty shoe is reasonably forgiving once it's been "worn in". I like Josef Seibel. Or fabric mary janes.

But I can't wear "fashionable" shoes without socks or tights. Spend my days looking for closed-toe slingbacks!

BoysAreLikeDogs · 07/04/2011 20:05

Kit shoes made by Laceys are super comfy, not mega fash but passably festival

usually stocked by independents

click on pic to enlarge

waxlyrical · 07/04/2011 22:47

I was the same until I found these

So comfy I have 2 colours. Need to size up though as sizing is odd.

CointreauVersial · 07/04/2011 22:50

Flip Flops?

thomasbodley · 08/04/2011 10:01

ivy I think it's because of the killing skin cells thing that it works - it creates a layer of callousing on the sole of the foot. Personally I dislike the cracked heels that go with it - all that exfoliating does my nut Grin

fluffyanimal · 08/04/2011 10:10

NOOO don't do the surgical spirit thing! I did this a long time ago because I also rub blisters just by showing my feet to most shoes. All that happened was that the skin on the soles of my feet thickened and hardened and I still got blisters underneath the thick skin, really deep and painful. And the thick skin itself is uncomfortable and presses into my foot in places.

I can't wear pumps or formal shoes without tights.
For sandals, I can only wear types with a fabric insole, i.e. nothing leather or man-made that will cause my feet to sweat and make the insole stick to my foot, as that also causes me blisters.

My feet are also EEE wide, so I buy virtually all my footwear off the internet, from places like Shoe Tailor. Sympathies, OP. I hate my feet and feel like such a non-woman for not being into shoes.

spacecadet1 · 08/04/2011 10:17

Not exactly dressy, but Havaianas are really comfy & come in an array of colours. Give them a go!

marriednotdead · 08/04/2011 10:45

Shoe buying is hell for me too so I sympathise. Recently bought a pair of Clarks unstructured fugly shoes for work as I'm on my feet all day and can't wear my lovely Fitflop mukluks there.

I need to wear stuff with a shaped footbed and fairly secure across my instep but find Birkenstocks uncomfortable and expensive. The Next equivalent (toepost style) has an adjustable strap and is currently available in patent fuchsia Smile
I stood in them all day yesterday and survived pretty well- not bad for £15.

Original poster
fluffles · 08/04/2011 10:48

I'm being careful not to put surgical spirit onto the soles of my feet, they get hardened naturally and are not the problem anyway, i'm just wiping the bits where i get red 'hotspots' prior to blisters, so where shoes end just below my big toe and round the side and back of achiles.

And i can stop if i feel the skin getting too thick and switch to moisturising and exfoliating instead.. something i don't do right now because my feet skin is baby soft anyway, which sounds like a good thing but really isn't.

OP posts:
BrightSideOfLife · 08/04/2011 11:51

I am marking my place as I have excatly the same problem....finding comfy shoes is a nightmare. I live in trainers & socks all winter and birks all summer. I can't wear anything with a toe post (I bought a pair out of desperation on holiday recently and still have scars on my feet - 3 weeks later). I tend to wear my comfy shoes into work and then switch to smarter (but uncomfortable) ballet pumps or sandals in the office. I must look a sight at the train station in the morning in my smart work clothes, with trainers or birks on!

I have thin feet, high feet and can't wear anything with an ankle strap either.

nappydays I had the same with my first pair of birks, it took me months to break them in and I nearly gave up but once I persevered they were great. When I replaced them, I didn't need to break in the new pair - they just seemed to fit perfectly again. So don't worry too much! (I wear the Ibiza style)

Ephiny · 08/04/2011 15:58

I can't wear flipflops or anything with a 'toe post' and can't understand how anyone does, the skin between my toes is very soft and sensitive (isn't everyone's?) and would be rubbed raw in minutes. I stupidly bought some once without trying on, but it's uncomfortable even putting them on, never mind standing or walking around in them. I'm very ticklish between my toes anyway and shudder at the thought of having something touching me there all the time...