There’s Help for Skin Problems on Your Feet
Are your feet smooth and unblemished? Free from bumps and lumps of all kinds? We’d be surprised if they were. The skin on your feet can itch like crazy, turn angry red, break out into tiny bumps, form big lumps, or turn as flaky and scaly as a lizard’s.
Patients who come to us with complaints about their skin may be suffering from an infection, a biomechanical issue, or an underlying disease.
Infections
Bacteria, viruses, and fungi use cuts and scrapes on your feet as entry doors to your body. Walking barefoot, sharing socks and shoes with others, or leaving your feet wet from excessive sweat can leave you vulnerable to the organisms that cause athlete’s foot, fungal toenails, and warts.
Biomechanical issues
Everyone is put together a little differently. When your foot anatomy is even a little bit out of alignment, it can put pressure on one area of your foot and cause corns, calluses, or blisters. Orthotic inserts for your shoes are often an excellent solution for chronic skin reactions like these.
Underlying disease
Flaky, white patches of skin on your feet could be a symptom of psoriasis. Constantly cracked heels may signal an underactive thyroid. COVID-19 has caused some people’s toes to turn bright red, a condition known as COVID toes. Diabetes makes the feet more susceptible to fungal infections and can cause symptoms such as burning skin and wounds that won’t heal. Finally, your symptoms may indicate a form of skin cancer.
Skin problems on your feet can be an unsightly annoyance or a serious medical issue. Our experienced podiatric surgeons, Dr. Craig B. Frey, Dr. Megan L. Oltmann, and Dr. Jim Swienconek, can help you discern the difference. For skin problems that prevent you from walking, burning, itching, hurting, call Foot & Ankle Associates of Cleveland in Solon, Ohio at (440) 903-1041 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We offer a modern office with the latest technology for podiatric patients in Portage, Geauga, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties, proudly serving our patients from Solon, Aurora, Bedford, Chagrin Falls, Hudson, Macedonia, and Twinsburg.
