Blog
Look After Your Feet This Summer
It is common at this time of year to hear about people trying to lose weight to get their ‘beach body’ ready for summer, but there can be other elements of your physical condition that can be overlooked.
The feet are a case in point. It can be very easy to think no further about them than the need to get a pair of flip-flops to wear on the beach. But your feet may need a lot more care than that this summer.
Indeed, there are two major reasons to buy foot care products online. The first is to deal with any problems you are taking into the summer and the second is to deal with any injuries or infections that may arise during the season.
The kind of issues you might already have would include things like verrucas, athlete’s foot or fungal infections. In this case, it’s not just a matter on ongoing treatment; you will also want to try to get your feet looking better and also avoid the potential for infecting anyone you might share a facility with.
A bigger problem may be the acquired injuries that can occur over the course of the summer. There are some, of course, that can affect the foot as much as any part of the body, such as sunburn if you are running around the beach or garden in bare feet. But there are others that can be very specific to estival activities.
For instance, if you are on the beach in the UK there are instances where you might get stung on your foot by a jellyfish, either by stepping on one that is beached or in the shallows, or when swimming in the sea. Most UK jellyfish are relatively harmless, but you may still need first aid.
You could also stand barefoot on shells, crab claws, barnacles or items left behind by people, causing minor injuries.
Often the worst foot problems come when you have something on your feet. Hot shoes means more sweating and this can make any infections or infestations worse, so you need to clean and treat your feet more. But you can also sustain a wide range of friction injuries like blisters and calluses.
These are common consequences of long walks in hiking boots, often new ones that haven’t been broken into properly, or with ill-fitting socks.
Come the summer, there will be thousands of hill walkers trying to bag Scottish Munros, Wainwrights in the Lake District or complete a long distance path, such as the Hadrian’s Wall trail in this, the 1,900th anniversary of when construction began. All that will mean a lot of sore feet, blisters, calluses and damaged toenails. So too, might summer sports like running, tennis or cricket.
Other problems can come from having the wrong sized shoes, a lack of arch support, or simply injuries from impacts on hard objects.
Some of the issues you may have with your feet this summer could be ongoing, some may be one-off injures and some the result of cumulative pressures. But by getting the right treatments, be they creams, plasters, liquid ointment or anything else, you can keep your feet in good shape to ensure you have a summer to remember.
