Feet are base of the body. To stay healthy entirely you have to keep your feet healthy and strong. And for this, you should know the foot hygiene tips well.
It this post, we have covered all the things to maintain proper foot hygiene.
It includes washing and exfoliation, moisturization, nail care, footwear types and more. By practicing all these tips properly, we guarantee that you can maintain a healthy and problem free feet.
Let’s walk into it…
[N.B: We have written a post about the Importance of Foot Hygiene. It will be better if you go through that post before reading this one.]
01. Wash Your Feet Regularly
Washing your feet is the simple and most important step in your feet hygiene routine. You should wash your feet every day with water. If you have a fungal foot problem, wash your feet with mild soap or by mixing Listerine mouthwash into the water. It is not necessary to do it every day, try it every alternate day.
During washing, rub your feet with hand so that stubborn or oily dirt can be washed away easily. Put special attention between the gap of the toes. After rubbing, wash your feet thoroughly with water. And don’t forget to wash your feet every time you come back home from outside.
After washing, drying feet is very much important. Pat your feet with a washcloth to make it dry. You should dry properly the space between toes and the border of nails. Because these portions are so much prone to fungal and bacterial attack.
02. Do an Exfoliation
Exfoliation is very much important for your feet health. It removes the dead skin cells and gluey impurities from your feet that you can’t able to remove with a simple wash. You should do a gentle exfoliation for the upper part of the feet and hard exfoliation for the sole and heel area. Let us explain…
Exfoliates with Foot Scrub
You should exfoliate your feet, toes, and the area between toes twice a week. This process takes just 5 minutes from you. Take 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon coconut or almond oil, few drops of peppermint oil, and mix them properly. Wet your feet with lukewarm water for 2-3 minutes. Now take the homemade foot scrub and exfoliate gently. Exfoliates your upper feet and toe for 3-5 minutes, then wash it off with plain water.
There are lots of homemade foot scrubs available on the web. You can choose anyone from theme to exfoliate your feet. If you don’t want the hassle, buy commercial foot scrub from your local store or amazon.com. These foot scrubs are so effective and packed with lots of foot caring ingredients.
Exfoliates with Pumice Stone
This exfoliation process for those who have hard skin buildup or cracks around heels and side of the feet. You should exfoliate your feet with a pumice stone once a week or twice in a month. You can use a foot file instead of pumice stone. But, we always recommend the pumice stone.
Soak your feet in lukewarm water for 5 minutes so that the hard skin turns to soft. Wet your pumice stone before starting exfoliation. Now take the pumice stone and start exfoliation on the heel and sole. Be very gentle in this job, otherwise, it will hurt you. And never ever try to remove all your dead hard skin on the first day.
For the sake of your proper foot hygiene, you should take care of your pumice stone. After using, make it dry and store it in a dry place. And to stop pathogen (bacteria, fungi, etc) buildup you should disinfect it every month. For this, you need to put the pumice stone in the boiling water for 20 minutes.
And never ever forget to moisturize your feet after every single exfoliation.
3. Soak Your Feet
Foot soak is a great way to provide nourishing care to your feet. But, you don’t need to do it every day or week. Once in a month is enough. You don’t need to go to a foot spa center for this. You can do it easily at home. We have listed some effective foot soak for dry cracked feet.
You can pick anyone to give your feet a caring soak. Some of them kill the bacterial and fungal stains of your feet and protect from future infections. After soaking, you should scrub your feet to remove dead and dry skin cells. The whole process will take just 30 minutes. After soaking and scrubbing, make your feet dry with a washcloth and apply a moisturizer.
4. Moisturizes Your Feet
Moisturizing your feet is very much important for foot hygiene. It nourishes and strengthens your feet’s skin. You should moisturize your feet before bed on a regular basis. And always right after scrubbing.
You can use coconut oil as a natural foot moisturizer. It will give you both antibacterial and anti-fungal benefits. Or you can buy commercial foot moisturizer. But, make sure the foot moisturizer is natural and organic. It will be better if the foot moisturizer protects from moisture loss while hydrating.
Don’t apply moisturizer in between toes if it is infected by fungus or bacteria before. It may hamper the condition.
05. Care Your Nails
Do you know which part of your feet is more prone to infection because of poor foot hygiene? It’s nails and toes. So, you should care your nails preciously for the sake of good hygiene.
First of all, cut your nails properly. Improper nail cutting may cause ingrown nail infection. You should cut your nails straight and don’t make it too deep. Use an emery board to file down the sharp edge. We recommend you to trim your nails twice in a month. Next, clean your nails properly with a pedicure kit. You can also remove excess cuticles from your toes. It is better to sanitize the nail clipper before cutting nails.
If you have a serious diabetic problem, you should take other’s help to cut your nails. You can go to a foot care center or take help from a member of your family. Because, if you mistakenly cut your toes, it may turn into a severe infection.
And don’t cover your fungal infected nails with nail polish.
06. Wear Appropriate Footwear
Footwear plays a vital role in good foot hygiene. You should put on a right fitted footwear (not too tight or not too loose) to keep your feet problem free. You can also use ball of foot pads for extra cushioning.
If you are to wear shoes for a long time, you should choose one which ensures enough ventilation. And without enough ventilation, your feet sweat more and create odor. If your shoes create odor then try to remove the odor. And don’t share your shoes or heels with others.
Use two or three pairs of shoes and change them every 2-3 days alternatively. If your feet sweat more, you can control it with a simple proven hack. Just put 2-3 pieces of newspaper into your shoes. It will create insulation between your shoe sole and foot. We have used it personally and hope you will be benefitted with the result.
07. Change your Sock Daily
Wearing same soak aging and again is completely unhygienic. Don’t wear the same sock in the next day. If you need to wear shoes every day, you should keep 7 pairs of socks. Use 100% cotton made socks instead of a synthetic one. And use padded one if your feet perspire more.
08. Stay Careful in Public Area
Don’t go barefoot in a public area like a gym or athlete court. These places are a major source of fungal infections like athlete’s foot, ringworm, etc. If you have to go there, wash your feet with an antibacterial soap afterward. And don’t use other’s foot gear without any covering.
09. Inspect Your Feet Closely
You need to inspect your feet closely at least once a week. First, give a close look to your feet and try to find if there is any sign of foot problem like redness, dump skin, etc. Check your nails if there were any dust inside it.
Now rub your feet with hands and try to feel any bump, hard skin, or tiny cracks. It helps to determine the current condition of your feet. By doing this, you can treat any kind of foot problem at the very beginning stage. You should measure the temperature of the feet with hands. Consult with a doctor if there is a huge temperature difference between two feet and last for a long time.
10. Talk to a Doctor
Experts opinion is always better than anything else. We can give you the overall basic hygiene tips. Cause, we don’t know the specific problem of your feet and the condition of the problem.
We always appreciate you to consult with a doctor if your foot problem doesn’t get cured by taking preventive measures at home. Say every detail about the problem to your doctor- the condition of the foot problem, your feelings, and what you have done to this problem at home. After knowing this, he will give you the best suggestion to cure your foot problems.
The Last Words
That’s all for today. We have tried to cover all the necessary things to give you proper foot hygiene tips. Hope this will help you to maintain good foot hygiene. Remember, the condition of your feet always depends on where you have been living, your lifestyle, food habit, and many more things. So, you have to keep all these things in mind while practicing proper hygiene.
Be happy with healthy feet.