What Are Corns Or Calluses
Corns or calluses are also a skin condition that occurs due to the foot skin having repeated friction against an area or when a person is wearing a smaller-sized shoe.
Corns appear on foot like a hard layer of dead skin.
They can be painful. Aside from that, they are noticeable, too. Immediately after spotting them, you should accord your foot the proper care and treatment.
In most cases, corns form on the toes and the sole of your feet.
Doctors advise patients who suffer from corns to always wear the right shoes and avoid friction with sharp objects.
Seek immediate medical attention once you spot this condition before visiting your nail technician.
Remember that once the condition gets treated, you can always get a pedicure and live a worry-free life without fear that the condition will spread all over your feet.
How To Get Rid Of Athletes Foot Fast
According to experts, the best way to get get rid of athletes foot is by using over-the-counter anti-fungal products to manage the infection. Dermatologists and doctors recommend treating your feet with anti-fungal powder, creams, or sprays as recommended by the given brand, which is often twice a day. To prevent athletes foot from returning, continue treatment as recommended for one to two weeks after the infection has cleared.
At the first sign of an infection, dedicate to washing your feet every morning and evening, thoroughly drying them to prevent any moist areas where athletes foot may thrive. Change your socks once daily or more, and dont wear the same shoes day after day, allowing each pair to dry completely before wearing them again. Treating your shoes with anti-fungal powder before putting them on may also help manage the infection. If youre looking for a foot powder to treat athletes foot, Mayo Clinic recommends brands like Gold Bond, Lotrimin, and Zeasorb.
When possible, go barefoot or wear sandals to let your feet breathe and heal. Experts recommend wearing moisture-wicking socks to discourage fungal growth when going barefoot is impractical.
Some cases of athletes foot can be treated at home, but you may need to call in reinforcements if you have an especially severe case of athletes foot. If you dont notice an improvement in two weeks after using over-the-counter anti-fungal products, experts recommend consulting a doctor.
Pedicures For Athletic Feet
Runners, aerobics buffs, tennis players, hikers, basketball players… besides a love for sports, they all have one thing in common- overworked feet. While athletes bodies reap the benefits of exercise, their feet pay the price: blisters, calluses, subungal haemorrhages of the toenails, striated nails, and athletes foot are just some of the problems that can plague the athlete who ignores her feet.
Offering pedicures tailored to athletes needs opens a whole new market segment that you can woo into the pedicure chair. But before you start planning promotions, you need to understand what athletes want and need from your service. Also, since athletes are so hard on their feet, familiarize yourself with the common foot disorders and know which ones you can service and which ones should be referred to a podiatrist.
THINK LIKE A JOCK
Thinking like a jock means seeing the pedicure service from the athletes perspective. While your typical pedicure client wants her feet to look pampered, most athletic clients could care less about polished nails and probably shudder at the thought of losing their calluses.
Health, not beauty is your angle for these clients. Athletes spend months toughening up their feet to withstand the abuses of their sport. No runner will thank you for reducing a callus into nonexistence because it probably will take her weeks to regain the protective layer of skin, and she may get a few painful friction blisters along the way.
A NORMALFOOT
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Skip The Salon That Sterilizes Tools With Uv Light
Speaking of sterilizing cuticle pushing sticks, all the tools used at a spa need to be properly sanitized. At some nail salons, youll see a toaster-oven like machine that uses UV light to sanitize anything inside. However, with UV devices like this, its a six-hour process to sterilize. Placing tools in a machine like this for a few minutes wont do much good to get rid of infectious fungi or bacteria.
Three states require a machine called an autoclave in nail salons by law, which kills infective organisms using high pressure and steam. Here in Florida, however, its a hit or miss if your spa will have one, so its often safer to trust the right liquid disinfectant solution.
Youve probably seen tools soaking in a blue liquid disinfectant before at a nail salon. This solution is usually Barbicide, and its a good sign to trust the pedicurist. These tools are often safe to use without the worry of bacterial or fungal transfer.
What to do instead: Ensure the nail salon is letting their metal tools soak in an EPA-registered disinfectant or ask if they use an autoclave.
Wondering What To Expect From A Medical Pedicure
A medicated pedicure is somewhat similar to a regular pedicure, only that there is an added medical touch to everything.
Plus, you can expect highly specialized care and medical attention to your feet and nails provided by trained technicians and doctors.
Although a medicated pedicure doesnt exactly have you sitting in a chair and someone paints pretty colors on your toenails. But youll have feet that feel soft and supple.
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You Can Expect Highly Personalized Comprehensive Care For Your Feet And Nails
If you dont want the cookie-cutter treatment for your nails and feet, then you should give medicated pedicure a try.
You can expect more specialized attention and care with this comprehensive procedure.
Whats great about this procedure is that its performed by a highly trained technician and closely supervised by a doctor.
With a specialist at the helm, you get better care for your feet and nails. These experts are better trained at recognizing the top podiatric issues and addressing them.
What may start out as minor problems like ingrown toenails, warts, and fungi can get full-blown. Most of these feet and nail issues are often overlooked and ignored. As a result, they only get worse.
But with in-depth and comprehensive attention to these concerns, a medical pedicure can prevent it from worsening and even reverse them.
I suggest you check out advanced treatments like diamond filing, callus buffing and removal, nail border evacuation, Pink Himalayan salt soak, glycolic peels, and more.
With a medically trained eye to watch over your feet and nails, you can be sure youre getting thorough care with meticulous attention to every tiny detail.
A Closer Look At The Troublesome Fungus
Toenail fungus is one of the main reasons people come to her office, and Vlahovic has studied the condition for years. Viewed through a microscope, her enemy appears rather meek. It looks like thin straws with little compartments in it but its part of an aggressive fungus family. The fungus that affects the foot in general, they are called dermatophytes. They love hair, nails and skin, so actually the same organisms that cause athletes foot can cause nail fungus.
If it gets into the nail bed, the fungus eats and digests the keratin in the nail, and that causes discoloration and thickening of the nail. Its a cosmetic condition that can become painful, but even if its not, Vlahovic argues that it is an infection that should be treated.
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Can I Get A Pedicure If I Have Toenail Fungus
Truthfully, people do it all the timemost of the time because they don’t even know they have the fungus. The experts we spoke to can identify it pretty easily though and might draw your attention to it. “If someone were to have a foot fungus, we’ll ask them, ‘Have you noticed your toenails looking different?'” Barb said. “We can’t diagnose them, but we can refer them to a podiatrist.”
A pedicure probably won’t hurt you if you already have a toenail fungus. But if you’re aware of the issue, you might want to alert the staff ahead of time. That way, they can be sure to fully sterilize the equipment after you use it. In some cases, they may even ask you to bring your own disposable tools for the job.
Don’t be worried about a tiny bit of discoloration, though. “As far as yellow toenails, that’s usually from polish,” says Barb. “We’ll tell them how to take care of it.”
Symptoms Of Athletes Foot
- A sharp itching pain between toes or stinging pain on the soles of the feet
- Blisters on the itching areas of the feet
- The skin starts to crack and peel off on the itching areas
- The foot becomes dry and rough
- Toenails become discolored and thick.
- Toenails start chipping away from the nail bed.
NOTE: As much as there is a significant similarity between the three skin conditions, different symptoms exist. If you have any abnormalities on your feet, keenly observe the abnormality and record the symptoms you can see.
Once you get well versed with the different symptoms, identify the type of skin condition affecting your feet.
If you get confused about which skin condition affects your feet, seek advice from a professional doctor for early treatment.
Remember that addressing the skin condition early enough and treating it correctly will help avoid further complications, which might cost a lot.
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But You Should Still Moisturize Carefully
Just because dampness can cause all sorts of issues for feet doesn’t mean they should be left to dry out. It’s important to moisturize with the right type of lotion.
Remember when I wrote earlier that I had “waterlogged” my feet? I had the best of intentions. For the last few years, I was basically “slugging” my feet with Vaseline, slathering it on directly out of the shower over damp skin, then pulling on a pair of thick socks and letting them marinate overnight. I thought I was giving my feet a spa-like hydration treatment. But it turns out I was actually causing major issues.
“Vaseline creates a thick, non-breathable barrier that tends to make conditions such as Athlete’s Foot worse,” says Correa. Slathering on a petroleum jelly-based product will lock in the dampness from showering a bad idea for feet and toes. Learn from me and don’t do that.
Instead, moisturize twice a day with a foot cream. Foot creams are thicker than body lotions, and they contain ingredients that are ideal for targeting the thicker skin on the soles of our feet. Correa recommends Gehwol Soft Feet, which contains urea. “Urea is known for breaking down the protein keratin in the surface layer of your skin,” she explains. This reduces dead skin buildup, making for softer heels and fewer calluses. For an intense overnight treatment, use a silicone heel protector over your foot cream to ensure extra moisture seeps into the skin and not your sheets.
Moisture Is The Enemy
Philosopher Derek Zoolander once said, “Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.” Clearly, he didn’t have fungus-harboring nails, because moisture, it turns out, is actually the essence of bacteria for feet. “The most common reason nail fungus starts is due to a combination of moisture build-up underneath the nail bed, as well as bacteria build up inside of our shoes,” says Correa.
If any of your nails are discolored, cracked or lifting, eliminating all interactions with moisture is key, and three important steps will help you do so.
First, use Gel Sleeves in the shower. They’re like little condoms for your toes, helping to shield any water from slipping under the nail bed and creating a bacteria party. After showering, take extra time to dry in between your toes , analyzing the nails for any possible changes. “Nails tend to grow very slowly, and often nail fungus goes unseen until it’s a problem,” says Correa.
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Want Healthy Beautiful Feet
A medical pedicure is an answer youre looking for.
You may not get the typical nail polish thingy, but youll surely be rocking healthy and gorgeous feet and nails when youre done.
Toenails get cut short and filed to the ideal shape. The feet will also be sterilized. Everything will look and feel good.
Got serious foot problems?
These medical technicians and highly trained doctors are the people you need. They will take care of you.
With these imperfections and issues gone, youll feel like youre walking on a new pair of feet. Youll feel lighter like youre walking on clouds.
If You Have Poor Circulation Only Get A Medical Pedicure
Do you have diabetes or suffer from poor blood circulation in your feet?
Its not a good idea to have an untrained person to handle your delicate feet. Your best recourse is to consult your doctor so he or she can advise a customized medical pedicure for you.
I suggest you schedule a pedicure first thing in the morning. There will be fewer people in the place. Plus, the foot baths and utensils are typically at its cleanest state since youre the first one to use it for the day.
Or you can bring your own utensils.
Although you wont have this problem when you go for a medical pedicure since the equipment and utensils are completely sterilized and the environment hygienic.
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Cutting & Filing The Nails
Correas long-time associate Alejandra began my treatment by asking me if I was experiencing any pain, as she creamed my heels and placed silicone slings on top. I was not, and she quickly got to work manually cutting and filing my nails and cuticles. When she noticed pesky corns on each of my pinky toes, she cut them out with ease.
Is There Any Hope
So is this story just a total bummer for toenail-fungus sufferers like poor Liz?
Im just so over it, she said with a deep sigh, admitting that she has toenail envy when she sees people who have pretty, freshly pedicured feet.
No, says Tracey Vlahovic. In fact, the FDA has just approved a new topical treatment for fungus, the brand name is Jublia. Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals expects sales of $800 million in the U.S. And another product will come out shortly.
Its a class of antifungals were all familiar with, Vlahovic said. The data there is very nice, its beautiful, and I think that patients will really like the further topical options that are coming out.
The new topicals have higher cure rates than topical options currently on the market and they can be used under nail polish, something thats very important to many women who have nail fungus.
Vlahovic says there is currently a lot of movement in this field, which has been stagnant for a while but even with better treatments, patients have to accept one bitter truth: There is no quick fix for this.
Nothing is going to work within a week. Nothing is going to work within a month, you must give things time, Vlahovic said.
So, if any person or product promises you to cure this thing quickly just dont buy it.
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Consider Skipping The Nail Salon
I know, I’m sorry. I’m sure your local nail salon is fantastic and responsible. But many toe and foot woes are in fact caused by salon basics: unhygienic tools, cross-contamination from unsanitary foot baths, and irresponsible nail clipping and shaping that lead to painful ingrown nails. Go for a manicure and tip well. But let this story be your sign to give your toes a polish and salon break. Oftentimes, we don’t even see the color of our natural toenails except for the few minutes at the salon between polish removal and nail painting.
And this is the perfect time to take care of your nails from home there is a huge flush of at-home products that make DIY nail care easier than ever. Clean, trim and buff nails from the comfort of your bathroom with freshly disinfected tools . “Cleaning your feet and cutting your nails the right way will prevent ailments that are not only hard to eradicate but can be painful and cause a ripple effect that can change your way of life in the future,” says Correa.
Basic Care For Healthy Feet
How to protect your feet:
- Wash your feet every day and dry them completely.
- Clip your toenails short and keep them clean.
- Change your socks at least once a day.
- Check your feet regularly for cuts, sores, swelling, dryness, and infected toenails and apply treatment as needed.
- When visiting a salon for foot care, choose a salon that is clean and licensed by your states cosmetology board. Make sure the salon sterilizes instruments after each use .
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Tips To Protect Your Feet At The Nail Salon
Before you put your feet in someone else’s hands, you should do your research and choose your nail salon carefully. Ask for recommendations from friends, and read online reviews that mention the cleanliness of the salon as well as the quality of the work. A reputable salon should also display current licenses for both the salon and its nail technicians.
Once you have made an appointment for a professional pedicure, it is best to:
The Bottom Line Is That As Long As You Set Some Ground Rules Theres No Reason You Cant Enjoy Pedicures As You Train
Dr. Canuso also suggests making your last pedicure at least two weeks out from race day. That way, in case you do end up with any ingrown nails, sensitive spots, or other unexpected foot issues, youll have enough time to get it sorted out beforehand, she says. Were all for treating yourself, but a spa day shouldnt get in the way of you and your PR.
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