When your feet are aching, itching, or swollen, you may avoid your daily routine and miss a lot of important events. It is important to understand that the ability to walk is related to your feet health. If you can’t walk easily, it may become difficult to maintain your regular activities and live as usual.
There are a lot of conditions that can affect your feet. Some of them can develop asymptomatically while others can cause severe symptoms. However, most conditions require medical attention and proper treatment. To stay on the safe side, we gathered these three dangerous foot issues that can spoil your life.
1. Bunions
A bunion is a bony bump that usually develops near the big toe. However, it is not a growth or tumor as many people tend to think. A bunion appears when your big toe joint shifts and protrudes outside.
Symptoms and causes
The most common symptoms of bunions include discomfort, pain, swelling, and redness in the affected area. Many people with small bunions don’t experience severe pain. However, advanced bunions can even interfere with normal walking.
Despite the fact that bunions are hereditary, they can be aggravated by many causes like prolonged standing, wearing high heels, and improper shoe wide choice. All these factors cause extra pressure on your feet and make the big toe joint shift.
Treatment options
Despite the fact that there are a lot of tools on the market that promise to eliminate your bunion, the only effective treatment option is bunion surgery. The other orthotics and orthopedic shoes can help you slow the progression of the condition.
Prevention
If you have a family history of bunions and want to prevent the development of this condition, you should carefully choose your shoes. Due to the fact that bunions are more common for women, you should avoid wearing high heels every day. Moreover, it is important to choose shoes with a wide toe box in order to avoid pressure on your big toe.
2. Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a condition that develops as a result of plantar fascia inflammation. Plantas fascia is a band of tissue that connects the heel and toes. It cushions your steps and may be damaged due to overuse. When it becomes inflamed, you may experience severe pain and discomfort. However, medical society still not sure about the actual causes of plantar fasciitis.
Symptoms
Symptoms of plantar fasciitis usually include severe pain, discomfort, and burning sensations that usually feel worse in the morning or after rest. Despite the fact that the pain can disappear during physical activity, it may become more severe after it.
Treatment options
Ther are a few treatment options that can ease symptoms of plantar fasciitis. NSAIDs, rest, and icing can be used to relieve pain if you can’t visit a foot doctor. However, such actions are not able to eliminate the cause of pain. Corticosteroid injections and physical therapy can also help ease pain and inflammation. However, surgery tends to be the most effective treatment for plantar fasciitis.
Prevention
In order to prevent the development of plantar fasciitis, you should always monitor your weight to avoid additional pressure on the plantar fascia. Moreover, mild exercising is essential for healthy feet and plants fascia as well. However, you shouldn’t forget to stretch your feet a little before exercising.
3. Athlete’s foot
Athlete’s foot is a condition that is caused by fungi. Despite the fact that fungal infection doesn’t cause severe pain, it can significantly affect the appearance of your feet and cause a lot of unpleasant symptoms.
Symptoms and causes
A person with a fungal infection usually has an unpleasant foot odor, yellow toenails, red skin between toes, and blisters. The athlete’s foot usually causes severe itching and burning, especially near toes.
Athlete’s foot is caused by fungi overgrowth. People who regularly have wet feet (because of excessive sweating or other factors) are more prone to get the infection. You can become infected directly because of the contact with an infected person or walking on the surface that was contaminated with the fungus.
Treatment options
There is a huge variety of OTC treatments that can easily eliminate fungal infection. However, you should always consult your foot doctor before use. If you want to achieve better results, you may ask your doctor about prescription medications. Certain home remedies like tea tree oil solution can be quite helpful but you shouldn’t rely only on them. Timely and proper medical treatment will reduce the infection better and faster.
Prevention
Due to the fact that you can easily get a fungal infection in public places where many people walk barefoot, you need to wear shoes in such places. It is also important to keep your feet clean and dry. If your feet are extremely sweaty, you should always have a few pairs of socks and shoes to change the wet ones. In addition, you should never wear shoes or socks from other people because they can be affected by fungi.
