Give it to me straight, Doc

[simsqu]

I had a rather painful heel for about a week: sore to walk on and it was getting a bit annoying. I tried to take a good look, but couldn’t twist my neck/knee/ankle in the correct direction for a close-up examination, so I got my wife to look.

“Hmmm looks like you‘ve got a cracked heel."

I apply moisturiser for a couple of days. It's no better, so I get the missus to take another look.

"Still looks cracked. Oooh and now it looks like there’s a dark, blackish line starting to creep up your leg from the heel”

So of course I go into instant panic mode. Dark line? I must have the beginning of sepsis. The pain in my heel gets instantly worse, and I start limping, imagining lines of gangrenous infected blood shooting up my leg on their way to shut down my vital organs.

Next morning I call the doc and make an emergency appointment for later that day.

Now in agony, I hobble bravely to the doc’s and slump down in front of her, gingerly profferring the remains of my rapidly deteriorating gangrenous foot in her direction.

She looks at it closely. Gives it a prod, I bite down on a leather strap and manage to keep from screaming.

She sits back and says, “have you been wearing new socks?”

“Err…well as a matter of fact, I have.”

“Black?”

“Ummm…yyyes.”

“Well Mr S, you’ve got a cracked heel full of sock fluff.”

[Imbiber]

I have found the best thing by far for cracked heels is Flexitol Heel Balm. Won't help with the sock fluff though ...

I

[UncleEbenezer]

Heh. Simple lesson: wear ye not socks, for up thy heel shall they bugger.

I have an ankle that I sprained back in August, and is still giving me twinges and making me concentrate when coming down the stairs (up is fine, apart from getting slower). Should I take that to the quack?

[ReformedCharacter]

My OH seems to have heel skin that grows very rapidly and for years would have cracked heels that would sometimes crack sufficiently to bleed. And cause considerable discomfort. The problem seemed to be that the skin would get too thick and then the flexing of the heel would cause deep cracks to form. The only - and successful - treatment is to slowly but persistently reduce the heel skin thickness. The best way we have found to do this is for me to get a piece of coarse sand paper and a sanding block and give them a good sanding once a week. Sounds a little strange perhaps but it works and my OH has not suffered with cracked heels for years. An ointment or cream can help to prevent the cracking a bit but the only answer that has worked for my OH is to thin the skin so that it doesn't lose flexibility in the first place.

RC

[mc2fool]

Get off all the dead skin you can using a rasp. If a rasp isn't available use a cheese grater (clean well afterwards). If there's someone you really trust to handle it, an angle grinder works very well and is faster than a rasp or cheese grater. Finish off with coarse sandpaper.

Then soak you feet in hot water until your toes start looking like prunes and then cut off any remaining dead skin using a Stanley knife or similar.

Dry well and smother your heels in axle grease and wear a plastic bag held on with rubber bands instead of socks. (You can wear normal socks, of any colour, over the bag if you like).

That should do it.

Ok, I jest, but only a little. Standard foot files look like a cheese grater, e.g. these, and I've also got what looks like a heavy duty nail file which I find useful, e.g. like this. And, of course, there's a plethora of moisturisers, creams, etc, etc available.

[kiloran]

Heh. Simple lesson: wear ye not socks, for up thy heel shall they bugger.

I have an ankle that I sprained back in August, and is still giving me twinges and making me concentrate when coming down the stairs (up is fine, apart from getting slower). Should I take that to the quack?

I don't think quacks are trained in treating stairs

--kiloran

[pje16]

Only 6 posts from the OP for the joke to make it's appearance
Long live TLF

[kiloran]

Only 6 posts from the OP for the joke to make it's appearance
Long live TLF

A joke? Be serious, it was just an idiot trying to be a smart-arse

--kiloran

[UncleEbenezer]

Only 6 posts from the OP for the joke to make it's appearance
Long live TLF

it was just an idiot trying to be a smart-arse

--kiloran

Not a bad definition of a joke there.

[Rhyd6]

Sorry to be helpful but if you go onto ebay or Amazon and type in electric pedicure set you'll find everything to cope with your problem. You'll never know just how sick reading this post has made me, even thinking about feet makes me feel sick so RC you're wife must be a grade A diamond. I couldn't touch anyone's feet including OH, and my children, grandkids, and GG grandkids. Even the sight of naked feet in flip flops etc. makes me feel queasy. Nothing else phases me but feet ugh!!!!!!!!!

R6

[bungeejumper]

Get off all the dead skin you can using a rasp. If a rasp isn't available use a cheese grater (clean well afterwards). If there's someone you really trust to handle it, an angle grinder works very well and is faster than a rasp or cheese grater. Finish off with coarse sandpaper.

That's not so far from how I deal with my toenails. I've often wondered how I made it through half of my life without knowing about rasps. But I find that the angle grinder works really well, as long as I fit a diamond disc. (Don't try this at home, kids...)

In my student days, we were always going on sponsored walks of one sort or another - and everybody knew that the best preparation for 25 miles on a paved surface was to soak your heels and soles in surgical spirit for three days in advance, so as to thicken the skin. We never thought that one day we'd have heels like half an inch of plywood, without making any effort at all. Or that we'd be slathering them with expensive gunk to stop them from murdering our socks.

Of course, we did have to keep our feet away from naked flames after we'd applied the surgical spirit. But hey, man, the fumes were another whole trip.

BJ

[oldapple]

Rhyd6, sorry, cover your eyes. After my granny died, my sister and me lived with my granddad for a while when we were teenagers. He wouldn't let my sister near his feet, but for some reason he trusted me from time to time to slice thin layers off his corns with a razor blade. I used to love telling people this, I suppose because I hadn't really anything more exciting to talk about at the time. But on one occasion I got a bit mixed up and told them I corned his pairs.

[UncleEbenezer]

But on one occasion I got a bit mixed up and told them I corned his pairs.

That must've sounded like a step in a dessert recipe. Or perhaps something sweet-and-savoury with cheese.

Especially coming from a (not-yet-old) apple.

[88V8]

A light daily application of Neutrogena is great for preventing cracked skin. As recommended by my doc for a crack in my thumb which had previously opened up every winter for at least 20 years.

Thick skin is a response to pressure and friction. To prevent friction between foot and shoe, wear two pairs of socks, a thin inner pair and a thicker outer pair. The friction then occurs between the two socks.
This is replicated in some hiking socks, which consist of two layers.

Now you also have an opportunity to wear the patterned socks you can't stand, which might otherwise fester at the back of the drawer.

V8