Question
My daughter and son experiencing deep slits/cuts/cracks in their feet during the summer months.  I suspect this is related to water and swimming.  

We have tried lotions and keeping them dry, but the cracks are so deep & painful they can hardly walk.

Any idea what we can do?

Answer
Hello Tami

Their problem is athletes foot fungus infections.

Here is what to do;

1. Stop putting lotions on their feet. Lotion is like "food from the gods" for fungus.

2. Have them wash their feet with soap and water every evening.

3. Don't wear cotton socks. Cotton hold water. Buy polypropylene socks that wick water away from the skin. I buy mine from Cabela's. On the internet.

4. Buy an over-the-counter fungus cream, such as lamisil. Apply it twice a day, for two weeks. Then switch to another brand such as Tanactin. Fungus builds up a resistance to a fungus cream, so every two weeks you change brands so the fungus never get a chance to build up a resistance.

Put Dr. Scholls foot inserts in their shoes so walking will be less painful. Buy the heavy-duty kind.

Keep the calouses and cracks ground down so the skin can heal easier and faster. I bought a Dremel grinder for shaping wood. It has a small round sandpaper tube on the end. I gently grind down the calouses on my feet once a week with this. I found it in the hardware section of walmart. Next to the paint. Get the kind that plugs into the wall, the battery model is not powerful enough.

Give yourself about a month to see any significant changes.

Hope this helps. Have a good weekend.