Website FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

on Routine Foot Care

How should I properly trim my toe nails?

To avoid the possibility of an ingrown nail, try trimming the nail straight across. You may curve a bit to match the contour of the toe, but do not cut down into the corners. You may also need to smooth the edges of the nail with an emery board.

What kind of cream do you recommend people use on their feet?

It's only worth using foot cream if you need it for some reason. If you have dry skin, most any emollient (which simply puts moisture back into the skin) will work. Vaseline, Keri lotion, Aloe, even vegetable oils will usually work. You don't have to spend a lot of money on exotic perfumed creams from Europe with funny, unpronouncable names.

If you're applying cream to deal with calluses, one of the urea creams (like Uremol, Ultramide, Dermal Therapy) are helpful, as are Kerasal (with salicylic acid), Lac-Hydrin (with lactic acid), and Dormer 211 (with haluronic acid) may work better than simple emollients. We carry another similar product known as Calicylic in the office.

Coupling these creams with a pumice stone will work doubly well. The best way to do this is to use the pumice stone after showering or bathing, then applying these creams. But if you have diabetes, don't use these creams until you have been seen by a podiatrist first.

If your feet itch a lot, you may have a fungal infection and over-the-counter, antifungal creams usually work well.

Is it better to soak my feet in hot water instead of warm water?

NO! In fact, soaking your feet in hot water will most likely burn your skin and do more harm than good. Incidentally, your skin takes longer to heal from a burn than from any other tissue insult.

What shoes do you recommend for patients?

Proper fit supersedes proper style!

There are numerous shoes available that have been approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association. But be warned. Not all of the recommended shoes will feel equally comfortable to each patient. It is far more important to have the shoe fit the widest part of the foot (the ball) to the heel. This is the "heel to the ball" fit.

Do you have any shoe fitting tips?

Shop at stores that provide service to their customers and have knowledgeable sales people. Getting properly fitted footwear takes more than picking a shoe off the shelf and having the sales associate ring up your sale.

Shoe at stores where you can get different width shoes. This increases your odds of a good fit.

Buy shoes based more on fit and function than on style alone.

Shop for shoes at the end of the day, when your feet will be a bit swollen. If you shop early in the day, you may find your shoes are too tight by the end of the day.

Be sure to have both feet properly measured with a Brannock device, that funny device you see every time you go in a shoe store, but you never knew the name (below).

This will give you a good place to start in terms of sizing. You should be standing when you're measured.

While the Brannock device gives you a good idea what size feet you have, not all shoes are sized accurately. Don't rely on the shoe size number printed on the shoe. You can find a shoe that is size 9, but it may actually be larger than a size 9 1/2 of another brand. Sometimes this may be due to the shoe manufacturer's lack of care in properly sizing their shoes, but some of it is actually intentional, especially with women's shoes. Some shoe companies will label a size 7 shoe a size 6, so the buyer feels good they're only a size 6. This tactic is very common in the clothing industry. The problem with getting the wrong size is that shoes that are overly loose or tight can cause damage to feet.

Many people have feet of different sizes. Fit to the larger of the two feet.

Have your feet measured each time you purchase shoes. Your foot size changes in age, weight, pregnancy, and other factors. If you're 40, the shoe size you wore in high school is probably not the right size for you anymore.

Shoes don't stretch. If they don't feel right at the time of purchase they probably will never feel right.

Take time to fully lace and tie the shoe properly and walk around in the shoe at the time of try on. In fact, when you do purchase your shoes, try them at home for a while before you wear them on the street. This will allow you to return them at a later date if it turns out you're having any problems with them.