Foot Care: Keep Your Feet Safe During the Holidays

It’s cooling down outside, so you better start to bundle up! This doesn’t just mean putting on a puffy coat and gloves – you need to remember to show your feet some warmth too. The dry winter air and cold temperatures are hard on your poor feet.  For those who crave to go out in the freezing temperatures to ski or skate, you need to be careful. You don’t need to be afraid to go out in the winter weather – just follow these tips to protect your feet from the cold temperatures.  Let’s look at holiday foot care:

Foot Care: Keep Your Feet Safe During the Holidays

Make sure the shoe fits

This rule really applies all year round. Making the switch from flip-flops to winter boots is hard enough; don’t make it any more difficult than it needs to be by squeezing your feet into boots that are too small. Make sure you have winter footwear in that’s the right size to avoid crowding and discomfort.

Keep your feet warm AND dry

Staying active outdoors during the cold winter months can be pretty difficult. Your feet need to stay warm, but trapping heat can lead to moisture build-up. To avoid this, some podiatrists recommend wearing a light synthetic sock to keep moisture away from the feet or a thicker wool outer sock where moisture can be absorbed and evaporated to the outside. This is especially important for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding and ice skating because stiff boots won’t allow evaporation. You should double-up socks to keep moisture from getting trapped at your skin within the thin synthetic sock.

Moisturize

Feet usually wind up dry and cracked during the winter. You can avoid toe pain by moisturizing daily. Keep an eye out for creams and lotions with rich ingredients like shea Butter, coconut oil or rosemary and peppermint extracts.

Keep your feet pretty

Just because you’re wearing boots this season and have put your sandals in the back of the closet, doesn’t mean that you should ignore your feet until you pull your sandals back out again. You should keep your toenails trimmed to prevent ingrown toenails and exfoliate to remove excess skin. Don’t forget to moisturize every day!