Diabetes Talking » Diabetics » Foot Care – Effective Callus Removal
Foot Care – Effective Callus Removal
Question:
I would think that any good endocrinologist or podiatrist would check your feet for neuropathy if you went to them and told them you had such symptoms. I know I have been so tested several times. Nev. "Asknoquestiongetnoanswer" wrote – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was concerned at a podiatrist getting stuck into my callouses with a knife, no matter how expert he seemed to be. — Henry M. I am fortunate in that my heels are in good shape. Even when my heels were badly cracked there never were any open sores or bleeding. I agree it works much better to do a little bit every couple of days.
Response:
I have to re-inforce what "bj" wrote. Find the cause and treat the cause, not the symptom. I wear surgical boots because of a non-diabetc problem. I used to have a callous under my heel which I used to go to a podiatrist to get cut back. I used to ask the surgical bootmaker to modify my surgical boots to try and prevent the callous happening, but he insisted my ideas wouldn’t work and wouldn’t try anything, even though each pair was costing me over $400. Eventually I found a surgical bootmaker who would listen to me as well as take my money. He did as I asked and built some more room into the boot’s upper so that I had room to place some cushioning under the sole of my foot. It was beautiful, just like walking on air. Aand the callous just went away without any treatment. I didn’t even need any 2 pound diet or anything!! You won’t have to spend +$400 for a pair for surgical boots like I do. The first inexpensive experiment you can do is just get a piece of cushioning material to wear under the callous and see if that improves things and go from there. Best of luck. Hope you find the answer to your problem. Nev. "bj" wrote – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Have you tried to determine why you are forming these calluses?
Response:
Have you tried to determine why you are forming these calluses? Things like the ways your shoes fit, the type of sock, or the way you walk, can contribute to these things. Do you use some sort of softening cream on the area every day? bj As a diabetic I have calluses on my heels that thicken and crack. When they get really thick they are painful. I have to go the podiatrist every 3 months to get them shaved back.
The podiatrist gave me a prescription for foot cream but it didn’t soften the calluses. I wear compression socks as I have mild swelling in my legs. The podiatrist said that the conpression socks are made of nylon and contribute to the problem… He suggested wearing cotton socks.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have always had callouses on both my big toes and have been using the ‘rasp’ you describe for a few years now. I was concerned at a podiatrist getting stuck into my callouses with a knife, no matter how expert he seemed to be. I try to use the tool every couple of weeks. It is a much gentler way of reducing your callouses. I use it when my feet are dry, which makes the tool more efficient. I find it is better to use it briefly more often, rather than attack your feet after a few months. One word of caution when using this – you can easily penetrate the skin if you get carried away with it. You should not assume that the protruding callous is all callous. You can quickly reach the flesh without realising it, until later when the callous recovers from the rubbing. As you probably know, the penetration could become infected, with unpleasant consequences. — Henry M. Melbourne, Australia, Age 54, Type II, Diagnosed 1995
I am fortunate in that my heels are in good shape. Even when my heels were badly cracked there never were any open sores or bleeding. I agree it works much better to do a little bit every couple of days.
Response:
Have you tried to determine why you are forming these calluses? Things like the ways your shoes fit, the type of sock, or the way you walk, can contribute to these things. Do you use some sort of softening cream on the area every day? bj – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As a diabetic I have calluses on my heels that thicken and crack. When they get really thick they are painful. I have to go the podiatrist every 3 months to get them shaved back.
Response:
I have always had callouses on both my big toes and have been using the ‘rasp’ you describe for a few years now. I was concerned at a podiatrist getting stuck into my callouses with a knife, no matter how expert he seemed to be. I try to use the tool every couple of weeks. It is a much gentler way of reducing your callouses. I use it when my feet are dry, which makes the tool more efficient. I find it is better to use it briefly more often, rather than attack your feet after a few months. One word of caution when using this – you can easily penetrate the skin if you get carried away with it. You should not assume that the protruding callous is all callous. You can quickly reach the flesh without realising it, until later when the callous recovers from the rubbing. As you probably know, the penetration could become infected, with unpleasant consequences. — Henry M. Melbourne, Australia, Age 54, Type II, Diagnosed 1995
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As a diabetic I have calluses on my heels that thicken and crack. When they get really thick they are painful. I have to go the podiatrist every 3 months to get them shaved back. My podiatrist said that I can use one of those callus removal tools to sand down my calluses, but he indicated that that would not be sufficent to keep down the build up of callus on my heels and that I would still need to come into his office for regular trimings. I started to look at other alternatives to reducing the callus buildup. I looked into the steam foot baths with rotating pumice stones, put passed on it. I tried the Pretty and Lovely cream on my feet but it didn’t really remove any excess build up. Last week I was in Walmart and saw an item called Dr. Scholls Callus Reducer. It is made out of stainless steel and looks like a metal rasp with very tiny holes in it. It was only $5.95. I purchased the product and it works great. This tool is fantastic. It reduced the hard callus on my heels to a pile of fine powder in a matter of minutes. I used it for a couple of nights in a row. I no longer have cracks in my heels and all of the hard callus on my heels is gone. Totally unbelieveable. Now I won’t have to go back to the podiatrist every 3 month for a callus triming. Even after the podiatrist trimmed my calluses I still had cracks in my heels as the podiatrist could’t remove all of the callus. Recommend that if you have diabetes check with your doctor for his OK before trying this. I just wanted to share this information with others that may be experiencing the same type of frustration dealing with cracked calluses on their heels.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have always had callouses on both my big toes and have been using the ‘rasp’ you describe for a few years now. I was concerned at a podiatrist getting stuck into my callouses with a knife, no matter how expert he seemed to be. I try to use the tool every couple of weeks. It is a much gentler way of reducing your callouses. I use it when my feet are dry, which makes the tool more efficient. I find it is better to use it briefly more often, rather than attack your feet after a few months. One word of caution when using this – you can easily penetrate the skin if you get carried away with it. You should not assume that the protruding callous is all callous. You can quickly reach the flesh without realising it, until later when the callous recovers from the rubbing. As you probably know, the penetration could become infected, with unpleasant consequences. — Henry M. Melbourne, Australia, Age 54, Type II, Diagnosed 1995 I am fortunate in that my heels are in good shape. Even when my heels were badly cracked there never were any open sores or bleeding. I agree it works much better to do a little bit every couple of days.
The traditional European remedy is using pumice stone. A porous volcanic rock. Used when bathing the feet it gently removes callouses. It does need water to work properly, and is fairly gentle. Ratty — Email: ratty at flyingrat.net Diabetes pages http://diabetes.flyingrat.net
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As a diabetic I have calluses on my heels that thicken and crack. When they get really thick they are painful. I have to go the podiatrist every 3 months to get them shaved back. My podiatrist said that I can use one of those callus removal tools to sand down my calluses, but he indicated that that would not be sufficent to keep down the build up of callus on my heels and that I would still need to come into his office for regular trimings. I started to look at other alternatives to reducing the callus buildup. I looked into the steam foot baths with rotating pumice stones, put passed on it. I tried the Pretty and Lovely cream on my feet but it didn’t really remove any excess build up. Last week I was in Walmart and saw an item called Dr. Scholls Callus Reducer. It is made out of stainless steel and looks like a metal rasp with very tiny holes in it. It was only $5.95. I purchased the product and it works great. This tool is fantastic. It reduced the hard callus on my heels to a pile of fine powder in a matter of minutes. I used it for a couple of nights in a row. I no longer have cracks in my heels and all of the hard callus on my heels is gone. Totally unbelieveable. Now I won’t have to go back to the podiatrist every 3 month for a callus triming. Even after the podiatrist trimmed my calluses I still had cracks in my heels as the podiatrist could’t remove all of the callus. Recommend that if you have diabetes check with your doctor for his OK before trying this. I just wanted to share this information with others that may be experiencing the same type of frustration dealing with cracked calluses on their heels.
It is a fine line between benefits and the risk of serious problems. Opening the skin on the lower leg or foot can lead to serious consequences. A diabetics seems prone to serious infections that can get out of control. Just go slow. I believe a doc can recommend several items that could alleviate cracking by skin conditioning. Been there. Guy
Response:
As a diabetic I have calluses on my heels that thicken and crack. When they get really thick they are painful. I have to go the podiatrist every 3 months to get them shaved back. My podiatrist said that I can use one of those callus removal tools to sand down my calluses, but he indicated that that would not be sufficent to keep down the build up of callus on my heels and that I would still need to come into his office for regular trimings. I started to look at other alternatives to reducing the callus buildup. I looked into the steam foot baths with rotating pumice stones, put passed on it. I tried the Pretty and Lovely cream on my feet but it didn’t really remove any excess build up. Last week I was in Walmart and saw an item called Dr. Scholls Callus Reducer. It is made out of stainless steel and looks like a metal rasp with very tiny holes in it. It was only $5.95. I purchased the product and it works great. This tool is fantastic. It reduced the hard callus on my heels to a pile of fine powder in a matter of minutes. I used it for a couple of nights in a row. I no longer have cracks in my heels and all of the hard callus on my heels is gone. Totally unbelieveable. Now I won’t have to go back to the podiatrist every 3 month for a callus triming. Even after the podiatrist trimmed my calluses I still had cracks in my heels as the podiatrist could’t remove all of the callus. Recommend that if you have diabetes check with your doctor for his OK before trying this. I just wanted to share this information with others that may be experiencing the same type of frustration dealing with cracked calluses on their heels.