You’re enjoying the heat, but what about your feet?

There are more sweat glands per inch in our feet than anywhere else in the body. The function of these sweat glands is to keep the skin moist and supple and regulate your temperature when the weather is hot, if you have an unnaturally high temperature or while exercising. 

When the temperatures rise, people tend to pay more attention to ensuring that their skin is protected from the sun’s harsh rays. While this is very important to do, there is one major part of your body you cannot forget to protect--your feet. Many people neglect the health of their feet because they tend to worry about every other part of their body first. However, this can prove to be a big mistake, as many issues begin from the ground up. In some cases, sweaty feet can lead to athlete’s foot or blisters, and bumps and scratches from wearing flipflops may lead to something more if ignored.

Keep the following tips in mind this summer in order to keep your feet healthy and safe:

•Avoid walking barefoot, no matter how comfortable it may be. If you are barefoot, you increase your chances for sunburn, infection, warts, ringworm, athlete’s foot, and other injuries.

•Be careful when getting a pedicure, as an unsafe pedicure can lead to nail fungus, warts, and infections.

•Wear the right footwear, no matter how tempting a flip flop may seem. Open-toed shoes can leave you susceptible to many injuries, which can be sustained from splinters, bottle caps, glass, coral, etc. You should also wear water shoes anytime you go into open water, such as the ocean or a lake.

•Drinking water can decrease swelling in the feat.         

•If injured, don’t wait--get to a medical professional immediately.

When should I see someone about sweaty feet?

If you experience any foot care issues which do not resolve themselves naturally or through routine foot care within three weeks, it is recommended to seek the help of a healthcare professional.

Excessive sweating, also known as hyperhidrosis, has a lot to do with how the sweat glands in the feet work. With 250,000 sweat glands, feet do tend to sweat more than other parts of the body, but with a good hygiene routine few people should suffer from the embarrassment that it may cause.

To make an appointment for general foot health, diabetic foot health, nail surgery and sports/activity advise with our podiatrist/chiropodist, call us on 02415 471947