Question
Hi!

I am 20 years old. I have callouses on the balls of my feet and on the sides of my big toes. They have improved a lot lately thanks to flatter shoes and because I moisturize often. I tried these stick-on medicated pads, but did not feel they made a visible difference.

I have a history of bad feet in my family. Both my mother and grandmother and all my aunts have dry, callous-full feet. My mom has had surgery...she had metal placed in her feet. She and the others always complain of severe feet pain. My mom also has flat-feet (I do not).

Now, my concern is what can I do to ensure that I do not have similar problems in the future. Is there anything I can do now to keep my feet healthy? Is there any way to truly get rid of callouses?

Thanks!

Answer
Hello Jenna

Yes, do these things:

See a podiatrist once a year.

Buy The Step and do 5-15 minutes of steps with shoes on, when you wake up, and again before you go to bed. This gets the metabolism up, the blood flowing. Low blood flow makes bad, cracked and painful feet.

Buy shoe arch supports. They sell them on the internet and at podiatrist offices. If your arches stretch or fall, it is very painful.

To keep the calouses under control, go to Walmart to the tools sections, next to the paint. Dremel has a small tool that is used to shape wood. Has tube-shaped sandpaper, small, that attaches to the end. Once a week, I use this to grind down, carefully, slowly, all the buildup of callouses on my feet. My feet are always smooth.

If you wear shoes, never wear cotton socks. Cotton holds water so your feet will get messed up. Look on the internet for polypropylene socks that wick moisture away from your feet. I buy mine at Cabela's. And make sure your shoes are always dry. I bought a shoe dryer also from Cabela's of which I use every night.

All of this can help your family too.

Hope this helps. Have a great week.