The hot weather this summer may cause some issues with your feet. Take a look at the top tips for cool feet this summer.
With the weather recently, looking after your feet could not be more important this time of year! The hot weather this summer can cause some issues with your feet. This blog will give you the top tips for cool feet, this summer.
If you suffer from hot, tired feet all year round we have the products for you. We recommend products from the Dermatonics range that work to cool and soothe your skin almost immediately:-
Deodorising Fizzy Foot Spray
– This is a spray that instantly cools and refreshes tired and hot feet.
– It also contains manuka honey to hydrate and draws moisture to the skin. This will help heal any cracks and splits in the skin.
Natural Care Ultra-Cool Foot Gel
– This moisturising gel works best to relieve hot feet. This gel will cool and refresh your feet immediately.
Athletes Foot
One of the most common issues with feet in this weather is tinea pedis (athlete’s foot). Tinea pedis is a very common skin infection of the feet caused by fungus. The hot and sweaty/moist environment within socks and footwear is a breeding ground for athlete’s foot. The main symptoms of athlete’s foot include redness, itching, and cracking/scaling skin. The infection is contagious spreading through direct contact (touching the affected area) and indirect contact (sharing the same clothes, towels, socks, or/and shoes).
Treatment of athlete’s foot can be applied using over-the-counter or anti-fungal products, as well as taking measures of self-care to minimise the risk of it reoccurring. With my patients, I recommend a 3-step treatment process, this includes: a topical anti-fungal cream or gel, an anti-fungal spray for shoes, and finally, treating socks and towels, making sure they are washed at a temperature of at least 60 degrees to kill any fungus that may be present in them.
Product Recommendations
The 2 products I recommend are Lamisil cream/gel for the topical skin treatment and Daktarin for the shoe treatment. There are other over-the-counter treatments that work equally well. If these steps do not work or clear the athletes foot, the next step would be to apply a stronger topical anti-fungal or steroid from your GP.
Fungal Toe Nails
Another issue that goes hand in hand with Athlete’s foot is Onychomycosis (fungal nail infection). A lot of the time these two conditions occur from the other happening first. Fungal nails present as thickened, discolouration, and streaking down the nail. The infection usually starts from the top of the nail and progresses down the nail. Fungal nail infection can look very similar to a damaged nail, the only way a fungal nail can be confirmed is through testing, sending away nail clippings to be tested, this would be done through your GP.
Product Recommendations
The treatment is very similar to treating athlete’s foot, but instead of using an anti-fungal cream, it would be best to use an anti-fungal spray or lacquer that can be applied locally to the nail. It is also best to keep the nail as thick as possible, so the treatment has a better chance of getting through the whole nail and onto the nail bed.
Top Tips For Cool Feet
Overall, my top tips this summer would be to let your feet breathe and get air to them as often as you can in the hot weather, try to wear lightweight breathable shoes where possible, and minimise the need to wear thick socks. And if you see or feel any changes to the nails or skin, seek advice and start treatment sooner rather than later, especially with a fungal nail infection, as if this progresses, it can become an infection that is very difficult to get rid of.