Chilblains
Chilblains area common problem in some countries and unheard of in others. They tend to commonly occur in colder climates.
Once they occur, it is important to keep the foot warm (link to advice) and prevent it from happening again. There is not a lot of research done on them despite how common they are (link to the research). They are more common in females, so that suggest hormonal issues, but the do occur in males. Lots of questions gets asked in forums and often the answers for a “cure” are just not there, so a lot more research is needed to get to the bottom of this small, but annoying problem.
Trench Foot
Trench foot was a cold injury that was really common in the trenches during war time. Th soldiers were subjected to cold and damp as well as unsanitary conditions. This no freezing injury affected a lot of soldiers and still is an issue in today’s armies.
It is just not a problem now for the army, but trench foot can occur in extreme sports in cold environments and in those with occupational risk such as cold store workers. It is more appropriately called a non-freezing cold injury. Frostbite is a freezing cold injury and the cold directly damages the tissues. In a non-freezing cold injury the tissue damage is more related to changes in the circulation.
Pitted Keratolysis
Pitted keratolysis is a relatively simple problem to deal with, yet is so common in the community and many to not seek treatment or seem to attempt the wrong self-treatment. Pitted keratolysis is a bacterial infection that tends to occur in sweaty feet (more). It creates a ‘soggy’ appearing skin with many ‘pits’ or little holes.
The treatment is simple topical antibiotics and removing of the sweaty conditions that create the environment that the pitted keratolysis develops in. That is not hard and is just good simple basic foot hygiene.
Onychomycosis
Onychomycosis is the fancy name for a fungal infection of the toenails and is a relatively minor problem, but is extremely difficult to treat. Well actually, in reality it is actually easy to treat, but its hard to stop happening again which gives the impression that it is hard to treat. The fungal agents that cause the onychomycosis thrive inside shoes where it is dark and moist. No matter what treatment is used, the foot is placed right back into the hostile environment that caused it in the first place!
Regardless of the treatment that is used, that environment that is so conducive to onychomycosis needs to be dealt with or this is going to be a problem for many years.
Laser Treatment for Fungal Nails
This has been getting a lot of publicity all over the media and especially, on YouTube. Lots or providers widely touting it and its benefits. Fungal nails or onychomycosis is notoriously difficult to treat, so any new treatment that comes along needs to be considered. The problem with any treatment for fungal nails is that it can take 6 or more months to know if it works and the re-infection rate is so high. This means that even if a treatment is fantastic, there is no guarantee that you will not get the fungal nail problem again! Because of this good evidence is needed on the laser treatment of fungal nails compared to the other standard treatments. The laser treatment is not cheap and we just do not know how effective it is compared to other methods.
There is plenty of debate and advice, but no good scientific evidence as to it effectiveness.
Cracked Heels
This is a problem that we see often and should not have to see as it can easily be managed by the individual if they are prepared to put in the effort to manage it. The cracks develop in the callus and dry skin around the heel. These fissure never heel and will tear on the good skin underneath which can become very painful. As long as the dry skin is kept moist and the thick skin is kept down, this is not going to be a problem.
Self care is the key to this condition. There is a good resource here on cracked heels. It really comes down to either putting the effort in to maintain it or coming and seeing a Podiatrists every few months. I give people the option. There is no miracle cure. Get the products you need and get going. Cracked heels is manageable.
Fish Pedicure
The media love doing stories on this! The fish pedicure uses a small fish to eat the callus and dry skin on the foot. A number of spas around the world are offering this approach and it is becoming more popular. As to how effective it is, I do not know. I have not tried it, but do see a lot of testimonials on websites for it and they love it.
There are concerns about the infection risks from the water and the fish, which may or may not be valid. Health regulatory authorities are looking closely at this issue and some local agencies have banned the practice for that reason. As log as precautions are taken for a fish pedicure (eg no breaks in the skin), this should not be a problem or an issue for concern.
Corns on the Foot
This is probably the most common problem that is seen by podiatrists either for regular routine care or for surgical correction of the underlying problem that is causing the corn.
There is plenty that can be done to help this problem and plenty of online advice available (link). The best advice is anything that you can do to get pressure of the area that the corn is on will help with the symptoms. This means better fitting shoes with more room for the toes. It means the wearing of padding to straighten toes and relieve the pressure. Most important do not use the so-called corn cures as they do not work over the longer term. If this is not helping, then see a podiatrist. There is no point putting up with these.