Feet first! - Gives yourselves happy and pretty feet. Here's how?

The feet are the pedestals of beauty. Your posture, your figure, your grace of movement all depend, finally on your feet. The human foot has 52 bones, and 214 ligaments. It is subject to more pressure and more injury than any other part of the body. It can also be affected by a great variety of diseases, circulatory disorders, dermatitis, diabetes and arthritis. However, minor foot problems start from outside pressure and everyday complaints like corns and calluses to in grown toe-nails which are very painful and grow worse unless they get proper treatment and attention.

Corns and Calluses

Corns and calluses are caused by the way we walk and by friction on the foot. A massage with olive oil, castor oil or coconut oil softens the dead tissues and makes it easier to rid yourself of these problems. A salt foot – bath followed by a massage with lemon peel oil is very soothing. You can make this by turning half a lemon inside out and filling it with olive oil or any other vegetables oil. Allow the oil to seep in overnight. To ease the pain of corns, tape garlic or onion on the corn. Rubbing a pumice stone over calluses softened by bathing keeps calluses small and eventually eliminates them. Melt and store 100 gm coconut oil, 5 gm camphor and 20 gm of paraffin wax. Use on clean feet at night daily till the cracks disappear. Wash feet in the morning and use a hand and body cream. For itching feet lemon juice and vinegar applied to the feet are excellent. Athlete’s foot is a fungus which develops an itchy rsh between the toes with minute blisters splitting the skin. Onion juice between the toes relieves itching and athlete’s foot. For swollen Feet soak feet in a basin of hot water to which a handful of Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulphate) and a handful of salt has been added. The swelling will soon disappear if you tie crushed leaves of geranium over the feet.

In grown toe – nails are mostly self – inflicted by incorrect trimming of the nail, cutting it too short or when snipping down the sides, tearing the nail, resulting in a sharp piece piercing the skin. You should see a chiropodistas the whole nail may have to be removed. For perspiring feet use a foot powder. Make your own foot powder: Talcum powder: 11/2 cup, Boric Acid: 2 tbsp, corn starch:1/2 cup. Mix all the ingredients together and use. Chillains occur due to poor circulation and they react with the cold, damp weather. Scratching an itchy chilblain only makes a broken one which will need medical attention. If the chilblains are unbroken, you can rub them with an iodine ointment at night. In the morning, paint the area with a mixture of equal quantities of Tincture benzoine and a weak solution of white iodine. Always try on shoes in the afternoon on a hot day. Avoid high heels for long periods of time. For long stretches of standing use sturdy leather lined shoes with broad- based medium heel. Don’t use the same pair day in and day out. Leather loses its shape unless allowed to rest for a day or so. To exercise feet, once in a while, move around barefoot. Sandy beaches and thick grass stretch your arches and make your toes work. Alternatively, you could walk on a carpet for 30 minutes. Picking up marbles with your toes improves the state of your feet.

GET A PEDICURE
Spare time once in ten days to give yourself a pedicure. Remove old nail polish. Massage nails with cuticle cream and soak in a basin of soapy water. Trim and me nails straight across. Push back cuticles with orange stick remove dead cuticle with cuticle remover Buff nails. Apply nail polish. One last tip- Remember to dry your feet after bathing, particularly between the toes. Damp feet provide the perfect environment for foot infection.

For information on diabetic foot causes and treatment click here