Cleaning

Cleansing your hands and feet twice a day is more than sufficient unless they have gotten dirty. Avoid being obsessive about washing your hands and feet throughout the day. Wash them only when needed. Avoid using harsh soaps, which can alter the pH of the skin and dehydrate it further.

Moisturing

Make sure you moisturise your hands and feet twice a day. In the morning, use a lighter moisturiser which has lactic acid, petrolatum, hyaluronic acid or vitamin E. At night, use a thicker moisturiser to form a soft coat on your skin. Look for ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil, olive oil, coconut oil , squalene, ceramides in your night moisturiser for hands and feet. Make sure you apply the moisturiser on a slightly damp skin.

Sun protection

You need to be particular about your use of sunscreen [a minimum of SPF 30] on your hands and feet, which usually face the brunt of unprotected sun exposure.

Care after cuts

If you have cuts in your palms or you find the skin peeling, avoid the use of soaps and detergents. Do not use hand sanitisers too often. Make sure you apply butter or cooking oil or even ghee on your hands before cutting sticky vegetables. Direct contact with flowers can also increase cuts and cracks. It is better to avoid handling flowers till your hands heal.

For cracked heels

To avoid cracks and rough soles, you can do an easy pedicure routine at home at least twice a week. Add a few drops of almond oil or coconut oil to warm water and soak your feet for about 10 minutes. Scrub the dead skin on the soles with a pumice stone or a mild loofah. You may also use crushed fruit pits or brown sugar to scrub. Apply a thick moisturising cream containing shea butter. If possible, wear cotton socks all the time. In case there are cuts, you may need to apply an antibacterial cream such as mupirocin along with the mosituriser. For deep cracks and cuts, it’s best to consult a dermatologist, who may prescribe a cortisone cream.

Corns and calluses

If you have hard calluses, use a cream with salicylic acid or urea to soften the skin and exfoliate. If you have corns, it is best to get them removed surgically. Use corn caps only if the corns have just appeared. Make sure you wear soft cushioned shoes in order to prevent recurrence.

Fungal infections of the feet

Also known as athlete’s foot, this condition is common in people who wear closed shoes throughout the day. Dark and damp conditions promote funguses that cause athlete’s foot. Keeping your feet clean and hygienic can help prevent fungal infections. Wash your feet frequently and dry them properly, especially between your toes. Always wear fresh socks or other hosiery. After a shower in the morning, dust a good amount of antifungal powder. Use an antifungal cream at bedtime. In severe cases of athlete’s foot, consult a dermatologist.

Nail care

Nail care is important to prevent brittle nails, fungal infections, and bacterial infections. Keep your nails clean and well trimmed. Moisturise your toenails with a cuticle cream, coconut oil or vitamin E oil. Gently rub it over the entire nail, including the cuticle. Make sure the cuticle is not touched during manicures and pedicures.

Always use an alcohol free nail polish remover. Avoid gel nails and artificial nails if you already have yellow nails or fungal infection of the nails.

In situations where your hands give away your age, skin booster injections made of hyaluronic acid are given into the skin of hands and feet to keep them nourished, hydrated, plumped and free of wrinkles. The other treatment is radiofrequency skin tightening.

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What causes foot corns to form?

• Improper feet care or bad posture.
• Wearing tight/uncomfortable footwear or high heels that put repeated pressure on the same spot
• Standing in the same posture for a long time
• Obesity or excess weight too could lead to developing a corn as the excess weight increases the pressure on the feet
• Being overweight also affects the person’s gait, which in turn puts abnormal pressure on the soles
• Poor foot hygiene

Corns may or may not be painful. Some corns are so silent they often go untreated, which is detrimental to your feet in the long run. Ayurveda deems corns as a less significant disease [kshudra roga] and ascribes them to imbalance of the kapha and vata doshas or body type.

How to get rid of your foot corn

1. Soak your feet in warm water for 5 – 10 minutes to which salt has been added. You can regular table salt or Epsom salt. Soaking in warm salted water helps to soften the skin and makes it easy to work with. You could also add 1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide to the warm water. This too helps to soften skin and remove dead skin cells.
2. After sufficiently soaking, scrub the area gently with the help of a pumice stone or some other scrubber to rub off the dead skin. Scrub gently over the corn area as it may be painful.
3. After this, dry the foot well and apply a medicated cream or gently massage the foot with coconut or mustard oil.
4. Repeat this daily for 1 – 2 weeks or till the corn has completely softened and healed.

Natural home remedies to remove foot corn

• Add a capful of vinegar to warm water and douse your feet in it for 10 minutes. Then scrub gently and massage with a greasy oil like castor oil or olive oil for further lubrication. Tie a small piece of cotton/bandage dipped in vinegar onto the corn. Leave it in this position for a few hours or overnight. Vinegar naturally sanitises dead skin tissue, making the affected area easier to clean and scrub off the dead tissue.
• To remove a soft corn, tie a piece of orange peel or lemon peel on the affected area after you’ve done the soaking, scrubbing and oil massage ritual.
• Roast some turmeric powder in mustard oil and apply this paste when bearably hot to the corn. Cover it with a bandage and keep overnight.
• Mix one teaspoon of aloevera gel with one half teaspoon of turmeric and apply on the corn.
• Massage skin with medicated oils such as jatyaadi taila, kasisaadi taila and shadadhwata ghrita.

Ayurveda treatment for chronic and hardened corns

For chronic, hardened and persistent corns, you need advanced ayurvedic treatment by an experienced ayurvedic physician.

Generally the vaidya or ayurvedic physician performs kshara karma using gaumutra [cow urine] and yavakshara [pearl ash]. He may even remove the corn surgically [shastra karma] or cauterise it [agni karma].

These procedures are followed by bandaging the localised area with turmeric paste and aloevera paste to promote healing and provide natural antiseptic cover.

As ayurveda attributes corns to kapha and vata imbalance, balancing the two doshas curb the re-occurrence. This involves modifying your diet [aahara] and lifestyle [vihara].

How to prevent corns

• Keep your weight under control. When you maintain proper weight, your feet won’t be over-pressured.
• Take care of your feet by cleaning, scrubbing and massaging them from time to time.
• Wear proper footwear that not only protect your feet and are comfortable but also allow equal distribution of your weight.
• Maintain a good posture that doesn’t put undue pressure on one side of your foot.

Last updated on 25 October 2019

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