Top Tips for Sandal Ready Feet and What To Do if You Have Dry Cracked Heels

Spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner, how does that make you feel? If you’re worried about exposing your feet to the world read on.

Top tips for sandal ready feet and what to do if you have very dry cracked heels

1 Trim your nails level with the end of the toe, just follow the curve of your toe but don’t cut down the sides of the nail. If you find it difficult to see what you are doing then just file your nails. If your nails are thick you can file them over the top to thin them down a bit. If they need a bit of conditioning use a product like Dr’s Remedy Hydration Nail Moisture Treatment and if you want to paint them Dr’s Remedy also make a great range of enriched nail polishes which are free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene and DBP.

2 If you suffer with rough skin file it with an emery board or a foot file if you have one, once you have smoothed the skin apply a good moisturiser. My recommendation would be to use a foot moisturiser with urea in it, urea plumps up your skin by pulling up moisture from the deeper layers of your skin, 10% urea cream such as CCS Foot cream or Flexitol Moisturising Foot Cream are very good.

3 If you have very dry rough heels again file with a foot file then use a heel balm, these usually contain 25% urea. Apply twice a day for a week. If you don’t see any improvement you may need to do the ‘Wet Wrap Technique'. How do you know if you need to do the wet wrap technique? Take a good look at your heels if the skin is very hard and cracked and looks like the Nile Delta the Wet Wrap technique is for you.

4 Wet Wrap Technique do this in the evening before bed,

• Have these things ready, 2 pairs of socks, 25% urea cream such as Flexitol Heel Balm or CCS Heel Balm.
• Soak your feet in warm water for 10 mins, it doesn’t need to be very hot, about body temperature.
• Take your feet out, pat dry then apply a generous layer of heel balm to your heels.
• Dampen the heel of one pair of socks then put on your feet, apply dry pair over the top.
• Go to bed have a good night’s sleep.
• Remove both pairs of socks, wash feet then apply 10% urea cream
• Repeat daily for up to 2 weeks until your skin is smooth once more
• Continue moisturising your feet daily with 10% urea cream for maintenance, but if they start to get very dry again start using the 25% urea cream

If in doubt call us we’d be happy to help. Most podiatrists stock the products mentioned in this blog.