Slippers! Yes or No?
It’s that time of year when you get home you just want to kick off your shoes and put a nice warm pair of slippers on, but should we?
Most of us love to kick off our shoes when we get in the house, there are numerous reasons why we do this, sometimes it’s because we have to wear smart shoes to the office which are often uncomfortable by the end of the day but perhaps it’s just the way we have been brought up. It may be cultural or just habit, may be Mum had a new carpet fitted so you just became accustomed to taking your shoes off when you went in doors.
So when you get in, what do you put on your feet? Do you wear slippers or do you just walk around barefoot?
Going barefoot can make your feet a bit cold, so it is tempting to wear slippers. But should we?
Words that spring to mind when you think of slippers are warm, cosy, comfy. But slippers aren’t intended to be worn for long periods of time, they rarely come in whole, least of all half sizes, often just in small medium and large and no width fittings, wearing them for long periods of time could damage your feet. Slippers were originally intended to be worn when you were ready for bed, or when making last minute calls of nature, so they’re not intended to be worn for more than a few minutes.
With modern working more people work from home so what do you wear on your feet?
Nina Neal podiatrist and Clinical Director at Torbay Footcare recommends you wear a light pair of shoes indoors, barefoot is best but often impractical.
- Make sure your footwear is long enough for you, chiropodists and podiatrists always recommend that there is at least half a thumbs width of free space in front of your longest toe when you’re standing in your shoes.
- Ideally there should be a fastening to adjust to hold the shoe on securely to prevent you clawing your toes to keep the shoes on, it also allows you to do the shoes up a bit more if the leather or fabric gives as you wear them.
Torquay, Paignton and Brixham are short of quality shoe shops, there are some makes which have more supportive slippers, M&S do a secret support range of slippers which come in whole sizes and have a shaped insole, Moshulu also offer a more supportive slipper.
For the elderly who can spend most of their time indoors, makes such as Hotter and the Wider Fit Shoe Company have slippers which are more of a ‘house shoe’ a slipper fabric upper with a supportive shoe type sole. Cosy Feet specialise in shoes and slippers for swollen feet, so if you’re looking for a present for your grandma for Christmas look for the style that will suit her best so that she will thank you with every step she takes.
