I have very few problems with my feet. What niggles I do have are caused by the fact that I have difficulty reaching my feet properly - caused by arthritis in hips and knees, a 'scraped' knee (arthroscopy) which means that my right side is the worst, and unwanted fat round my middle getting in the way - that's getting easier now there's less of me! :lol:
I moved into my present bungalow in March 2010, and since then have had very few baths - I think my bath has an experimental non-stick coating :shock: , it would do nicely for an ice-rink :lol: . I really enjoy a bath, and find it very easy to tend my feet when lying on my back - I can then get my feet up to my hands! I have never had foot problems at all, before the move.
Now I have a seat which stretches across the bath so I can shower sitting down - bliss! but it's difficult to reach my feet properly, as I can't bend forward sufficiently without pain, and if I try to put the opposite foot over a knee I fall off the seat backwards :roll: . So I never felt as if I had cleaned my feet properly.
I dry sitting on lots of towels on the bed - I have lots of crevices that need careful attention to stop fungal infections in the sweaty bits :shock: .
After about 2 months of this, still drying, powdering and moisturising as per usual, I noticed to my horror that I had splits, bleeding, between most of my toes. My GP sent me to the lovely podiatrist, who told me just to dry and not to powder, and moisturise carefully, not between the toes. This didn't seem to cure the problem, and now I do the following:
I leave the plug in the bath when showering, so that my feet get a short soak; this seems to make it easier to get the bits between my toes properly clean;
I use a microfibre cloth to dry between my toes. My toes are tight together and won't spread (this fascinates the podiatrist :crazy: ); drying between them with a thick towel pushed them too far apart and only made the splits worse. The microfibre is thin enough to slot between them and very absorbent;
I have gone back to Daktarin foot powder (I've used it for years; other brands are available!) but just a very light shake between the toes, and a bit on a finger smeared along behind/below my toes.
Moisturise after showering with Flexitol, top and sole only.
I have very little trouble now; if I think a split is beginning, I use Tea Tree Oil cream at bed-time and shower it off in the morning. I've also started using surgical spirit between my toes, using a cotton bud pushed between.
I see the podiatrist every 3 months to make sure my nails are properly cut, and to keep a good eye on my feet. We had a very interesting conversation the last time about the psychology of diabetes, which I shall probably start a new thread about.
Any comments, Pod? Always interesting to hear another opinion.
Viv 8)