Don't let cracked heels crack you up! Zimmermann Podiatry Blog

Cracked heels bringing you down?

Don't worry, there are things you can do!

First of all, lets talk about why people get cracked heels. Some people simply have drier skin than others, and dry skin, especially on the heels-likes to get thick and then crack open. More often than not, people that like to live the flip-flop lifestyle or go barefoot (probably half the population of Florida) are the ones most afflicted with cracked heel syndrome. And for the people that like to go barefoot or stay in flip-flops, the chance of improvement is greatly limited unless they modify their activity and finally begin to wear shoes and socks. Without shoes and socks, the skin around the heels gets extremely dry and turns so hard that it may even seem rock-like.
As far as treatment (besides wearing shoes and socks and limiting time barefoot or in flip-flops), hydration and removal of the thick skin is the primary course of action. Forget lotions, by the way. Dried up heel skin laughs at over the counter lotions. For dried up heel skin, you usually need prescription level medication for hydration and treatment to help remove some of the thick skin. In our office, we stock Kera-42, a highly concentrated and thick cream that actually works to help soften and remove the thick skin. A podiatrist will also use instruments to painlessly cut off the thick skin. Usually patients have to come back for a few visits until the thick skin is greatly reduced in size and thickness. After that, as long a patients continue to use the proper creams and can use a pumice stone, the heel problems are a thing of the past! But for those who refuse to give up going barefoot and slumming it in flip-flops, the cracked heel problems will linger no matter what is done.
Rarely, an underlying fungal skin infection can make the problem worse, and for that we usually prescribe some topical antifungal medication that is used for about two weeks.

So, don't let cracked skin crack you up!
Go see a podiatrist instead-

Zimmermann Podiatry
923 W. Dixie Ave, Suite B
Leesburg, FL 34748
(352)435-7849
www.drzpodiatry.com