Men spend hours shaving, styling their hair, exfoliating the skin and staying physically fit and healthy. But how often do men think about caring for their feet? The feet carry the weight of our bodies and feet allow us to ambulate throughout the day, support us during weight training, and make contact with the concrete pavement when we run. Men should not ignore the importance of their feet, so we present here a complete guide for how to take care of men’s feet.
The average American takes anywhere from 4,000 to 7,500 steps per day or a little under 2 miles. We assume our feet will help us get where we need to go, and thankfully, they do for most of us. But not only do we ignore our feet for purposes related to mobility, but we also tend to neglect them in terms of their appearance. There are a top side and bottom side to our feet, along with toenails spaces between the five toes. This guide will show men how to keep their feet healthy and attractive looking.
The Best Way To Take Care Of Men’s Feet At Home
What tools and accessories should men have to take care of their feet properly? A basic list of items to help keep feet healthy include the following.
- Tennis Balls to massage the underside of your feet, especially the arches of the feet.
- Insoles, for arch support, especially if you stand on your feet a lot during the day or walk or hike often.
- Sharp Nail Clippers, to cut and trim the nails weekly.
- Foot Cream, to hydrate the feet to prevent drying and cracking.
- Foot Scrub, to exfoliate the feet.
- Pumice stone, to help remove dead skin cells. Combine with foot scrub for the ultimate exfoliating experience.
- Argan oil, to use as a moisturizer to hydrate and protect feet from drying.
There are more products you can use to keep feet healthy and we’ll discuss those in the course of this article. A professional pedicurist will have all these tools and more, but if you’re grooming your feet at home, these products will do the job.
Common Conditions That Affect The Feet
Steps should be taken on a regular basis to protect men’s feet to avoid the following conditions.
Athlete’s Foot
Washing feet thoroughly with soap and water every day, taking care to make sure you scrub your feet every time you bathe is a great way to keep feet healthy and avoid the onset of athlete’s foot. Men wear shoes and socks throughout the day, and these cover the feet entirely, preventing them from breathing, compared to women’s shoes.
Women often wear sandals and dress shoes without socks, so their feet are constantly exposed to air. Men’s feet are covered, creating a moist environment that allows the fungus to grow.
Athlete’s foot is a painful and itchy rash that spreads quickly over the feet and causes discomfort even after you begin treating it with an antifungal spray or cream. The best way to avoid it is to wash your feet when bathing in the morning, and when you come home from work in the evening.
It is a great idea for men to take two showers every day, to remove dry, dead cells from the feet and to keep the entire body’s skin clean.
It’s also important to dry the feet thoroughly after bathing or showering. Moist, wet feet are a breeding ground for athlete’s foot fungus.
Take special care to dry the feet between the toes. This area is often neglected when towel drying feet. It’s okay to apply lotion to the feet but avoid putting any lotions or creams between the toes,, because this creates a moist, unhealthy environment and helps propagate athlete’s foot fungus.
Wear Proper Fitting Shoes
Shoes that don’t fit right can cause a host of problems that will result in pain and disfigurement that will often require surgery to correct. Examples of foot problems that are the result of ill-fitting shoes include:
- Bunions. A bunion occurs when the joint of the big toe becomes crooked. This forces the big toe to turn inwards. Bunions occur in poor-fitting shoes, such as shoes that are too narrow for your feet. Changes in footwear may not alleviate the pain caused by bunions, and surgery is often necessary. Try over the counter pain medicines first before seeing a doctor.
- Corns and Calluses. These occur after constant rubbing against the material of a shoe. Corns will appear on the tops of the toes, as well as on the sides. Calluses appear on the bottoms of the feet, especially the palm of the foot and the heel. Placing padding or moleskin around corns and calluses will help prevent the onset of pain. Seeing a podiatrist is the best option for the removal of these painful growths. Don’t try removing them yourself after they begin to cause pain.
- Blistering. We’ve all experienced foot blisters on the back of our feet. Blisters occur when wearing shoes that are too loose and the heel of the foot moves up and down, causing friction that eventually wears down the outer skin and causes a great deal of pain.
When feet blister, pockets filled with clear fluid cover the back of the foot. It’s important not to pick at these blisters because it will hurt a lot and make walking even more difficult. Worst of all, the blisters will only form again.
The best way to remove blisters is to take your shoes off and use a sewing needle. Sterilize the needle, then insert it slowly into the closed blister at the lowest point of the blister. Let it drain, then cover the area with antibiotic cream. Leave shoes off so the blister can heal.
Shoe stores often carry pinch pads that are placed on the tongue of the shoe. These pads push the foot back towards the heel and help to reduce friction to help avoid getting blisters in the first place.
Foot Problems That Are Not Due To Improper Fitting Shoes
Toenail Fungus
When you have toenail fungus, it causes yellowing of the nails. The fungus can spread quickly from one nail to the next if not treated as soon as possible. Toenail fungus occurs when you walk in wet areas while wearing shoes. The water becomes trapped and saturates under the nails, which helps fungus to grow.
The best way to avoid toenail fungus is to keep the nails dry at all times. Stop during the day when feet become moist, Remove your socks and shoes and dry your feet and toes with a towel and change into a fresh pair of socks.
Even if you work in an office, it’s a great idea to bring a towel with you, as well as talcum powder. Remove your shoes during a lunch break. Change into a fresh pair of socks after drying your feet thoroughly with the towel. Apply talcum powder and then put on a fresh, clean pair of socks. These steps will help prevent the onset of toenail fungus, a condition that will take a long time to treat.
If you already have toenail fungus, see a doctor so he or she can take a nail clipping as a sample and examine it to find the best way to treat and rid your feet of fungus.
Your doctor may then prescribe oral anti-fungal medication because oral medications treat toenail fungus better than topical ointments and creams. Sometimes it will take up to four months for the fungus to disappear. The best way to determine if the fungus is gone is to see the color of the nails as they grow back. If it looks clear, then the treatment is working.
You may also be prescribed medicated nail cream that you apply to your nails after soaking them in soap and water. You may need to thin the nails first so that the cream can be absorbed through the nails entirely.
Ingrown Toenails
These can occur when nails aren’t cut properly. Nails should be cut evenly and straight across, making sure to cut the corners of the nail the same depth as the middle. If not done properly, the corners of the nails can dig into the skin, causing pain as the nail continues to grow inside the skin instead of outside.
When trimming your nails, always use a larger nail clipper, preferably one that has a snap action as it cuts through nails. The blades of the nail clippers should be sharp and precise. One of the best investments men can make to take care of their feet is by investing in a top of the line pair of nail clippers and nail scissors. Higher quality clippers last for years and don’t need sharpening.
Gout
Gout is a foot condition that isn’t selective and can affect anyone. It occurs due to a buildup of uric acid in the joints of the big toe. Sometimes the body produces too much uric acid; this acid helps in the breakdown of a substance called purines, which occur naturally in the body.
Often when there is a family history of gout, men can get this condition. Certain hypertension medications can also cause gout, as well as a diet that is rich in meat or seafood. High fructose corn syrup, a popular substitute for real sugar and found in sweetened drinks like soda and energy drinks, has been linked to the development of gout.
To prevent the onset of gout, drink plenty of fluids, keep alcohol consumption to a minimum, and substitute low-fat dairy products like eggs as a source of protein, instead of meats and seafood. Stay on a diet to keep your weight within a normal range, because obesity is a well-known cause of gout.
How To Buy Shoes That Fit Right
The best way to prevent many foot problems is to buy shoes that fit right. There are certain things that men buy that require more of a financial investment than other things. For example, there is a wide variety of headphones to choose from, and sometimes we get sucked in and come to believe we must spend hundreds of dollars on the best pair.
Yet study after study shows that less expensive headphones have the same or better sound quality than many name brand ones. Men can easily get high-quality audio headphones with great sound and noise reduction feature for about a hundred dollars, or even less.
However, a man should never compromise in getting the right shoes. Here, it is advised to invest as much as you can.
Buy Shoes At A Quality Men’s Shoe Store
It’s okay to invest more money in a pair of shoes that fit well. When you go to a premiere men’s shoe store, you will have the length, width and arch height of your feet measured.
Today in popular shoe stores, shoes and sneakers come in a standard width. But men’s feet come in several widths and compromising by getting a wider width than your foot needs will often cause blisters and arch discomfort.
Quality men’s shoe stores have shoes for narrow width and wide width feet. Also, shoes are available in half sizes. One of the hardest sizes to get in a man’s shoe is 11 ½. Yet this is one of the most popular shoe sizes for taller and bigger men. Quality men’s shoe stores will have this size.
When you wear the right size shoe, you can avoid not only blisters but also some common foot problems such as hammertoes, claw toes and calluses.
Buy Quality Shoes Made From Soft Materials
Shoes have two basic parts, the upper and the sole. The first important part of the upper is the toe area, called the last. No matter what style of shoe you buy, there should always be ample room for the toes, because it is this part of the foot that is subject to the most problems. Whether the last is round, almond-shaped or chiseled, only buy the shoe if the toes feel comfortable right away.
The vamp is the part of the upper directly behind the toes. The vamp flexes when walking in the shoes. The vamp should never be too stiff that it causes pain to the top of your foot. When trying on a pair of new dress shoes, walk around the store in the shoes to feel how much resistance the leather vamp places on your foot. Too much will eventually cause pain when walking in the shoe, and this can lead to a host of foot problems including plantar fasciitis.
The shoe quarters are located behind the vamp, from the tongue of the shoe to the sides of the shoe toward the back. This should be reinforced with metal rather than cardboard, and the shoe will last for years and keep its structural integrity.
The heel should also be reinforced with steel so that it retains its shape. Most important when trying on a pair of shoes is to make sure the heel is snug and not loose. If your foot rubs against the heel, causing friction, you can expect to have blisters soon after you purchase the shoe.
Try to buy laced dress shoes instead of loafer style, especially if you have a narrow-width foot. The laces will help the feet fit snugly in the shoe because with laces you can loosen or tighten the shoe around your foot as need be.
During the course of the day, our feet grow larger as the blood begins to circulate through them. If you have lace shoes, you can loosen them accordingly as the day goes on.
Always get a shoehorn with your shoes. The salesman can give one to you at no charge, especially if you’ve made a substantial investment in the shoes. You should also see if the store has pinch pads that you can take with you and place under the tongue of the shoe later on after the shoes have broken in. When the shoe leather softens after a period of wear, the shoe may loosen around the feet. Pinch pads will push the foot towards the back of the shoe and maintain the snug fit you had when you bought the shoes.
Always use the shoehorn to prevent the shoe heel from collapsing. The shoehorn guides your heel into the shoe, rather than having your feet press down on the heel, causing it to break down.
Lastly, it’s a great idea to place insoles along the sole of the inside of the shoe. Insoles like the ones made by Dr. Scholl’s brand are designed to prevent foot discomfort. Insoles are one of the ways to take care of men’s feet. The insoles absorb shock and keep the feet comfortable during the day.
Remember that the body’s full weight presses down on the feet. Insoles assist by helping absorb some of the weight, displacing it from your feet and into the insole accessory. Insoles also provide much-needed arch support. Some of the highest quality shoes lack arch support necessary for your feet. There is nothing more uncomfortable than having to walk around with fallen arches. This condition is also irreversible, and insoles will that gap in the shoes from the top of the foot arch to the base of the shoe.