06/04/2007 by admin.

Did you know that dry skin often lacks natural Urea that would normally keep our skin soft and hydrated.  Urea re-hydrates the Stratum Corneum and its loss means the skin loses its water binding function allowing the skin to dry and crack. Dry skin on the feet can not only produce nasty painful cracks but allow entry of bacteria and fungi causing irritation. Our skin contains three natural moisturising factors that are produced during the process of karatinisation, they are Amino acids, Lactic acid and Urea. (Keratinisation is the process where dead cells are shed by the epidermis, this takes approximately 28 days) The Urea added to foot creams allow the other products in the preparation to act more effectively eg Lanolin.

Posted in Foot Health | Print | No Comments »

06/04/2007 by admin.

If you have kids that are keen on swimming the chances are they will pick up the dreaded Verrucas at some point. The viral warts called Verrucas are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus. I takes around 4-6 months for them to make an appearance on your childrens feet and quite often it takes a while for the Verrucas to become painful and big enough for them to complain about it. The virus is easily spread by physical contact and cuts and abrasions on the feet can allow the virus to enter, hence the reason many kids get the infection from school gyms,swimming baths and changing rooms. Prevention isn’t easy at school. It’s a good idea to not share footwear,use their own towel and wear flip flops around changing areas or at the edge of pools.

Treating warts/Veruccas is easily completed at home but can take a bit of patience (often around 18wks !) and it should continue for about a week after you can no longer see it. Products to treat them can be varied; from Freezing (can be very painful for children) to painless methods like Veracur Gel(Formaldehyde) incidentally very suitable and safe for young children and diabetics, to Occlusal a Salicylic acid based treatment for adults and older children. Whatever product is used, anyone not sure about a mark on a childs foot or a particularly large Verruca should get it checked by their GP or Podiatrist first of all.

Veracur Gel,Occlusal and Swim socks available from http://www.yourfootcare.com/html/verrucas_and_warts.html

Posted in Foot Health | Print | 1 Comment »