A foot problem

Warning: not a pretty sight.

I have had a sore heal for a week or so and put it down to a bang or having stepped on something but it hasn't got better.

However when I eventually tried to look I found a ruddy great crack in my heal. I thought the black was dirt because I do walk around in bare feet a lot and the ground is particularly wet and muddy at the moment after 7 weeks of wet weather BUT it turned out to be dried blood.

BTW the smaller cracks are normal for me and have been there for years in varying shapes without any adverse effect.


Any ideas on how to treat this? I was thinking of rubbing in Lanolin cream or even Sorbaline to soften the skin.

Re: A foot problem

it looks infected Bruce but you could try a temporary fix by applying an antiseptic cream, I use Germolene which works for me when I have heel pain

Re: A foot problem

My heel is in exactly the same condition at the moment, and my toe is worse, ive been told mine is infected and a trip to a podiatrist to have the tissue removed with a course of antibiotics to follow. I am diabetic and this does tend to be a problem with the condition.

Re: A foot problem

I am not a diabetic (I don't think) but the antiseptic cream sounds a good idea.

The foot is on my 'bad' leg affected by sciatica some 12 years ago but 'cured' by a Micro endoscopic discectomy. The lasting damage to the nerves means that this leg has a fair bit of feeling loss and consequent loss of muscle condition (the calf is half the size of the other for example) and I suppose that could lead to some circulation problems though that has never been spelt out to me.

Anyway will start on the Savlon antiseptic straight away.

Re: A foot problem

I have really dry feet and your problem is not unknown to me .. During the winter when I wear socks and boots my feet can dry out and crack and Ive tried everything I can think of.

What works best for me is to soak the foot in warm water (with antiseptic like dettol) until its clean and soft..Use a pumice or emery foot pad to smooth ragged edges and then treat the cracked foot with a grease like vasoline and use a large plaster or pad to keep the grease on the heel..

Leave overnight and it should be softer.. Then you can get through the day and repeat again at night until it heals ..
Doing this type of treatment about once a month is enough to make sure my feet dont get too bad..

Re: A foot problem

Bruce, Cass's right about filing off the old skin first. You can buy foot files in most supermarkets or pharmacies. Not much good slapping on loads of cream otherwise.

Re: A foot problem

I get the same problem on my right foot Bruce.
What I do is pumice the heel when I am in the bath as the
skin is softer in the water. Then I always put some cream
like hand cream or some moisture cream on the heel every
night. It is dry skin so you need to moisturise it.
I also walk around with bear feet or should it be bare
Keep creaming them Bruce it will go away and as mentioned
if its infected you need something like germaline or what
you have in Australia that's similar.

Re: A foot problem

Ouch, that looks painful.

Re: A foot problem

My dad's feet used to go like that, I think he used to soak them in hot water with alum in it, not sure if you can still buy it. My daughter had same problem and gets special socks that are impregnated with stuff to soften the skin after a warm soak. I'll try to get hold of her to find out the name.

Re: A foot problem

Ouch Bruce nasty...all these feet are putting me off my lunch

Agree with everyone else about keeping your feet and legs moisturised, it does help to prevent cracking. I have a problem with dry heels and rub them daily with heel balm. I wear mules aound the house to let the air get to my feet.