Have you found that there is a thick layer of skin on some parts of your body? It may be your toes or feet or on your hands. Those are calluses that develop when there is a lot of friction in that part. You might get them on your fingers from playing an instrument… perhaps the drums or guitar. They also occur on your feet if you wear ill-fitting shoes.

For the purpose of this post, we’re going to focus solely (no pun intended) on what happens to your feet and how you can take better care to prevent this from happening and what kind of treatments you might need.

Read on to learn all about corns and calluses and what you can do about them.

Causes & Symptoms

The main cause of this tends to be from those shoes that may look great but are extremely tight on your feet. That creates friction and ultimately those corns or calluses. It can also happen if you wear shoes that would normally fit if you wore socks but you decide to recreate the 1984 Miami Vice look of going sockless. The cast of that show had people who could care for their feet 24-7. That’s not the case for you. 

If you get corns or calluses, you can see some hard raised bumps on your feet. If you don’t get them fixed, you could wind up having conditions progress to things like bunions, hammertoe or other deformities like bone spurs.

Treatments

When you come to see your doctor, they will make sure that there isn’t something else causing those hardened bumps - like perhaps a wart or a cyst. They may take an X-ray to be absolutely sure. 

The most likely thing that the doctor will do is tell you to stop doing whatever is causing the problem. They may tell you to wear socks with your shoes. You may have to bump up a shoe size to ensure that you have the proper fit. They may remove excess skin using a scalpel (Do NOT try this at home). There are callus-removing medications that you can get over the counter. Surgery is an option but that’s for very rare scenarios involving how a bone is aligned in your foot.

A popular remedy is to get a pumice stone or a nail file and sand away the callus, but being careful to not remove too much skin. If you have a foot deformity, then there are inserts that you can put in your shoes.

What to Do Afterward

Now that you have smooth feet again, what can you do to prevent recurrences? One of the best things that you can do for your feet is to put moisturizing cream on them. That can both keep your skin from hardening and cracking and also soften and corns and calluses. You want to be safe, though, and not take off too much skin.

Ultimately, it comes down to taking good care of your feet by doing things like ensuring that your shoes are well-fitted. This is very important if you have diabetes, since the flow of blood to your feet will be compromised. If you are wearing a new pair, be sure to protect certain areas of your feet, such as the heels, to keep them from becoming chafed or have those calluses form. Do this until the shoes are truly comfortable and broken in.

If things keep persisting, you can see a foot doctor to see what suggestions they have to get you on the right path to good foot health. Then you can go back to enjoying things like walking around outside and not have to worry about the state of your feet.

Dr. John J Hickey has nearly 40 years of experience working with patients and their feet. He can help you with your corns and your calluses and ensure that you are out and about walking pain-free again. Give him a call at 516-735-4545 to make an appointment today!

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Levittown Podiatry

2870 Hempstead Tpke, Suite 103,

Levittown, New York 11756

Phone: (516) 735-4545

Website: https://www.levittownpodiatry.com/