Cracked Heels

Cracked Heels

Cracked heels, or heel fissures, are an extremely common foot condition. For the most part it is caused by dry skin and exhaserbated  by thick or callus skin. Generally cracked heals are nothing more than a cosmetic problem but the condition can become painful if the cracks themselves are deep into the layers of the skin. It is also possible for these deep cracks to become infected so it is important to pay attention to cracked heels if they become painful.

It’s easy to differentiate between dry skin and cracked heels because with cracked heels you will noticed the dried skin will begin to turn a yellowish color at first and may appear brown along the sides of the heal. It becomes really obvious when small cracks in the skin appear because dry skin does not normally produce such a result.

Although it is a good idea to use a good skin moisturizer when dry skin appears anywhere on the foot, it may become necessary to seek treatment if and when it becomes painful to put weight on the heels and/or chunks of skin around the begin to separate and cause open wounds.

There are several causes contributing to cracked heels and one is just simply the propensity for dry skin. Another has to do with the way you walk and how your foot strikes the ground during your striding. Other factors which may contribute to cracked heels could be excessive standing, obesity, wearing open back shoes and skin conditions.

Just think for a moment. Standing too long can put undue pressure on the foot and cause the padding of the foot to try and expand. Open ended shoes do not support the heal properly and being overweight can force the weight bearing sections of the foot to flatten out and expand the heel. Our feet can only accept a finite amount of weight and anything more than that sends the foot pads of the feet looking for help. The result is a flattening of the fatty internal pads and expansion of the skin.

If you believe you are beginning to suffer from cracked heels you should first try using a quality cracked heel cream found in any drugstore. Follow the directions on the package and expect to have to moisturize twice a day. Another self treatment is the use of pumice stones to exfoliate skin of the heel. If a pumice stone does not help peel away extra layers of skin it is not a good idea to clip or cut the skin away. Let a podiatrist or other specialist help with this because any self cutting could lead to infection.

A podiatrist will have many treatment alternatives from prescription moisturizes to custom foot orthotics to provide more support for the foot and reducing the tendency for the skin to expand. Orthopedic shoes prove successful in many cases as do heel cups in your current shoes. Having and dealing with cracked heels is one thing, but finding out what may be causing yours is worth a quick trip to the podiatrist to ensure proper foot care.