It is always a great idea to take care of your body by cleaning it. The feet and the toes are part of the body that needs to be cleaned too since these are the most commonly exposed to dirt day in and day out. That is why it is better if you take extra measures to prevent infections and fungus.
How do I keep my feet and toes clean? Cleaning your feet and toes includes washing it every day, scrubbing it as you do in any part of the body. You can also put a moisturizing cream, soak it with warm water, exfoliate the skins around the toenails, and many more.
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As you read on, I will explain to you further why those procedures are needed to keep the feet and toes clean. I will also list infections that you might get if you don’t clean your feet and toes.
Ways To Clean A Feet And Toes
We know that you regularly clean your feet and toes, but here are the proper lists on how to do it.
1. Clean Your Feet And Toes Daily
Remember that washing your feet and toes helps prevent odor and fungal infections. You can do this if you think that this should be a part of your hygiene routine, like taking a bath. Start it by wetting your feet and toenails with warm water.
2. Scrub The Feet And Toes
Like in any part of our body, feet and toes need scrubbing, because the germs or any other fungus won’t be removed if you only wash it with water. When scrubbing, use a soap and a pumice stone or a loofah to scrub away the germs, including dry, dead skin. Remember not to scrub hard as it may damage your feet and toes.
3. Use A Feet Moisturizer Or Cream
Moisturizing your feet is said to help keep your feet and toes healthy. Moisturizers help in maintaining healthy oils replenished. That is why it is okay if you invest in a foot cream which you can buy at department stores and online. Ensure to moisturize your feet, including the in-between your toes.
4. Soak Your Feet In Warm Water
Experts say that by soaking your feet helps loosen the dirt that your feet acquired during a busy day. Plus, it is easier for you to clean your feet thoroughly, soften your toenails, making it easier to clip.
You can also add essential oils or a pinch of salt in warm water. For better results, soak your feet in warm water for 15 minutes.
5. Exfoliate The Skins Around The Toenails
After soaking your feet on warm water, exfoliate the skins around the nails. By exfoliating, it helps remove dead skin cells too in a particular area of the feet. It also helps cleanse and revitalize the area that surrounds the toenails. Use an exfoliating scrub or a nail brush when brushing your toenails.
Others soak their feet in Epsom salt that is mixed with warm water that softens its skins. It is also an excellent remedy to sore feet. When exfoliating, massage your feet and toes with a chosen substance. When you are done, rinse it off with cool or lukewarm water and make sure that you dry them thoroughly.
6. Remove Calluses Or Rough Spots
If your feet don’t improve by using a moisturizer, grab a pumice stone then rub away the calluses or rough skin. Don’t put so much force when rubbing your feet with a pumice stone because it may cause wounds.
Scrub the areas affected by the calluses, and you’ll see that it removes dead skins too. If you’re not sure what exactly a pumice stone is, you can get advice from the doctor.
List Of Foot Infections
Having healthy feet and toes prevents you from different fungal foot infections. If in case you didn’t know, fungal foot infections are hard to treat, persistent, and sometimes are life-threatening. Below are the lists of some common foot infections you might encounter when you don’t clean your feet and toes regularly.
Athlete’s Foot
It is also known as the tinea pedis accompanied by rashes, itchiness, and flaking between the toes. This kind of fungus usually thrives in moist environments like the saunas and gyms. It is caused by any number of fungi, including the ringworm. In serious cases, doctors can perform a skin scraping known as the KOH Test.
If a person has a mild case, they can use the over-the-counter antifungal cream or spray. But for serious or persistent infections, doctors require oral antifungals like the terbinafine or itraconazole. That may last from two to six months of treatment.
Toenail Fungus
Or an Onychomycosis is a typical slow-growing fungal infection that lies beneath the toenail. Symptoms are flaking of the nail, thickening, discoloration, separations of the nail from the nail bed and appears to be white or yellow.
For Doctors to determine it, they can perform a visual evaluation and are supported with a KOH Test. And a tissue culture from nail trimmings can help it identify the specific fungal pathogen.
In this case, they say that it’s hard to treat since most topical creams can’t penetrate the nail tissue. Oral antifungal treatments work, but it takes from six to twelve months for your nail to grow back. The treatment is terbinafine but should be supported by itraconazole-another oral antifungal.
Erythrasma
It is a typical bacteria infection caused by the Corynebacterium minutissimum, which is seen in people with diabetes. It is diagnosed by using an ultraviolet light, which is known as the wood’s lamp. Usually, the infection is pink in color then becomes brown and scaly as the skin starts to shed and flake.
With infection, bacteria establishes itself in folds of skin, such as the armpits, groin, between the legs, and under the breast. This bacteria’s treatment is the topical fusidic acid cream or the oral antibiotic like the azithromycin or erythromycin.
Foot Abscess
In this type of foot infection, the cause is a puncture wound or a hair follicle infection. Abscesses are similar to boils, but it involves deeper layers of tissues. Its symptoms are swelling, warmth, redness, pain, and the formation of a raised bump. It can also be accompanied by a low-grade fever and a general achiness.
An abscess is diagnosed by performing a physical evaluation. The treatment for this included the drainage of the abscess, which is supported by oral/or topical antibiotics. Over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol or acetaminophen can help remove the fever and lessen the pain.
Conclusion
In general, if you don’t pay attention to maintaining your feet and toes clean, your formation of bacteria and fungal infection is possible. We listed those helpful tips to help you know that clean feet and toes are important, like the other parts of the body.
Sometimes we often forget to clean it because we think it doesn’t have bad effects. But you’re wrong because those listed infections are samples that when you don’t clean your feet and toes, it’s dangerous.
