Very Dry, Very Flaky Feet, HELP PLEASE

Hi Sister's I need your help. I have very dry feet. Lately they appear even more dry. My last pedi I kept apologizing to my nail tech. He said it looked like athlete's feet or psoraisis (sp)? I went to my doctor. He is not a podiatrist, but he said it could be athlete's feet or dry skin. He said I could get something over the counter. He also gave me a sample of a foot lotion. They have gotten better, My feet are not as dry. I am getting a second opinion. In the meantime can any of you recommend what has helped you with dry skin specifically on your feet.
I sincerely appreciate it.
Calonda

I believe I read this in a book about the uses of coconut oil that it is anti fungal and can greatly help those with skin issues like you have . I use the nutiva brand of extra virgin coconut oil and it is excellent. My Dad who has had excema and athlete's foot issues say's the CO has helped him alot .

I've been very pleased with Yes to Tomatoes Body Butter. It works even better than my shea butter and coconut oil.

queshette,

I think what you do with your feet could be even more important than what you put on it. Find out if the cause is fungal, then you can add a specific treatment for this, but I would recommend the following which has helped my fiance tremendously in getting rid of his foot fungus and maintaining softer skin on his feet:

- Every time you shower/bathe, gently exfoliate the bottom of your feet with a pumice stone (or wash cloth if a pumice stone is too rough for you), paying attention to places where the skin is hard and thick, like the sole and ball of your foot, and the big toe. Don't expect this to get everything off the first time you use it. After a week or so, you should see and feel a big difference. But the key is using it gently every time you bathe. And try to do it at the end of your shower/bath, after the skin has had a chance to moisten and soften.
- Carefully dry your feet, making sure to get all moisture from between your toes and around your toenails.
- While your feet are still damp (after toweling off, but before you leave the bathroom!), apply an antifungal between your toes and to the bottom of your feet. My fiance uses a couple of drops of tea tree oil per foot. Or you can use a prescription cream. These are preferable to sprays, which will get soaked up into your socks if you have to put socks on soon after applying the spray.
- While your feet are still damp (after toweling off, but before you leave the bathroom!), apply a moisture balm or salve to the bottoms of the feet, especially at places where skin is hard and thick, like the sole and ball of your foot, and the big toe. He likes to use shea butter or a papaya salve, but coconut oil would be great, too. There are lots of salves and balms out there, such as by Burt's Bees and Badger. These are more heavy duty, which is necessary for your feet which get a lot more use than your hands or other parts of your body that you moisturize.
- If a fungus is present, allow your feet to "breathe" as long as possible. That is go barefoot or wear flip-flops until you have to leave the house. Wear sandals whenever possible. Air will help kill the fungus; warm, moist environments (such as sweaty feet in socks or shoes, or showered feet that aren't dried thoroughly before putting on socks or shoes) will make the fungus grow.
- Try not to wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row. Allow the shoes to dry out, and if you have pairs that are absorbent (cloth) wash them. Shoes made of synthetic materials or lined with synthetic materials are the worst for your feet, because they don't allow your feet to breathe and therefore promote foot fungus. If you must wear a pair frequently, such as for work, then get one of those antifungal sprays and spray the inside of your shoe after work so the spray can do its work overnight. Doing this every couple of weeks should help keep it away. Or, only change into your shoes at work, wearing another pair until you get to work and immediately after you get off work.

Good luck!

For my dry feet between pedicures, I use a pumice stone which works great to slough off the dry skin leaving very soft skin behind. I use it in the shower along with "Carol's Daughter Sea Salt Body Scrub"...the bomb! Talk about leaving your skin soft. It exfoliates the skin. I use this on my feet (and body) all the time. And my feet feel incredibly soft after each use.

Another great product is "Sally Hansen's Callous Remover"....or name similar to this..... it's a white cream in a pink and white tube....excellent as well. A friend brought this to me when I was in the hospital for several weeks last year, and this stuff worked wonders to soften my feet.

HTH

This may seem weird but have you tried Vic's vapor rub on your feet? I use it at night after I bath and put socks on. It can't hurt to try.

I use Palmer's Shea Butter Formula on my feet, and when I say this stuff is the bomb?!?!? YES, it really is! I rub it on my feet everyday when I get out the shower and my feet STAY soft! Whenever I get a pedicure, the asian ladies always tell me how soft my feet are! Lol! You should try that! I even put my mom and sister up on it, and they are addicted as well! You can get it at Wal-Mart! It works great!

In addition to all the great suggestions for moisturizing and care that have been given, you need to exfoliate/remove the dead, dry, flaky skin away as well. I would start with a Ped Egg (don't let the cheesey commercials throw you, this thing works!). Use it on clean dry skin like the instructions suggest. Your feel will be smooth and soft. Then use your foot creams, lotions, etc. Once you get the really flaky skin off, you can maintain it with a pumice stone every day in the shower.

Here's a quick little segment on the ped egg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsQV6-02Yw

It sounds like you have athletes foot or some other fungal infection and you should be wearing shoes and socks. That will really cut down on the hardening of the soles of your feet.

Just want to say that if your manicurist thought you had athletes foot and gave you a pedicure anyway, you should not be seeing her. Fungal infections are sooooo contagious no matter how well you clean.

You should exfoliate regularly after soaking your feet. Whatever you use to exfoliate with, throw it away after using once otherwise you run the risk of reinfecting yourself as it's clearing up. Apply tea tree oil after exfoliating. Tea tree oil is a good to use for it's antifungal properties.