Home Remedies for Cracked Heels

Suffer from cracked heels and know not what to do? Worry not, for help is at hand. Cracked heels can indeed crack your confidence too! Fortunately, this common condition is not hard to treat. Today, we give you an insight into what causes cracked heels and how you can treat them at home.

Explaining Cracked Heels

Cracked heels, one of the most common problems faced by a large number of women, indicates lack of attention to foot care besides mere overexposure or lack of moisturizing. In medical terms, cracked heels are referred to as heel fissures. Fissures can be defined as regular linear cut wounds that generally affect the surface which includes the epidermis. In spite of the seriousness, this is the most ignored problem. Besides making your feet look ugly, cracked heels are extremely painful and gets perpetual with lack of care.

Generally, the problem transpires during summer and spring. The problem is, however, light fade and not so clear during autumn and winter. Moreover, cracked heels indicate something more than a cosmetic problem, which can take a serious form if not treated with appropriate measures. On not being treated appropriately, the fissures might get deep thus making the skin bleed accompanied with extreme pain.

Causes of Cracked Heels

Cracked heels indicate a general problem related to feet which can result from the rough and dry skin. However, there are also some other underlying factors responsible for cracked heels which include highly severe dryness on the skin as the main root cause of the problem. The most general causes leading to cracked heels include:

    •  Ill-fitted footwear
    •  Diseases and disorders
    •  Climate or environmental effect
  •  Wrong ways of walking

Treating Cracked Heels with Home Remedies

Cracked Heels Home Remedy

There are certain home remedies that can help with cracked and dry heels. The most common ones include;

Glycerin and Rosewater

 

Apply a mixture of glycerin and rosewater on the affected area on a regular basis. This would help in soothing the heels as well as provide a fast healing.

Vegetable Oil

Apply any hydrogenated or curbing vegetable oil after washing the feet clean. This should be applied on the dry and cracked areas of the feet. After a thick coat of the oil has been applied, cover them with a pair of thick socks. Leaving this application throughout the night can undoubtedly provide assenting results in few days.

Soap Water

Another home remedy to treat the cracked areas of heels includes soaking the feet in lukewarm water with a little amount of soap added to it. This would help by making the hard and tight skin on heels and soles soft.

Coconut Oil

The heels can also be massaged with coconut oil before you go to bed at night. In the morning, scrub it thoroughly and rinse off.

Banana Pulp

Another helpful option includes applying the pulp of a ripe banana on the cracked or dry area of heels. This application is required to be left for 10 minutes and rinse clean thereafter.

Vaseline and Lemon Juice

Another effective home remedy includes the application of a mixture of a teaspoon of lemon juice and Vaseline. Apply the mixture on dry and cracked areas of your heels. This remedy will prove highly beneficial.

Also, applying just petroleum jelly or a regular body lotion can also help cracked heels

Pumice Stone

The dead and cracked skin on heels can be removed by rubbing pumice stone.

Lemon Soak

Soak your feet in lemon juice for as long as 10 minutes. Following this therapy on a weekly basis until change is observed.

Paraffin Wax and Mustard Oil

Applying wet paraffin wax and mixing it meticulously with a little amount of mustard oil can be applied at night and doused off in the morning.

How to Care for Cracked Heels

Besides effective treatment, proper care is also needed for cracked and dried heels to cure them and make them look better. Some important tips for care of cracked heels are mentioned below for your acquaintance. These comprise:

    • Keep your soles clean.
    • Try to wear shoes which are designed to cover the whole foot, especially while moving in sandy and dirty or dusty places.
    • It is advisable to wear sleepers at home for floor also contains dust particles.
    • Dip your feet in warm water for approximately 10 minutes and scrub them thereafter with the pumice stone. This would help in removing dead skin cells as well as keep the skin on your feet soft and healthy.
    • Dry the heels well. Any kind of moisture left in cracks might prove injurious.
    • Incorporate application of a good moisturizer or foot cream in your daily routine and wear a soft pair of socks. The best time to follow this procedure is before is before going to bed. The underlying fact is that the feet will be at rest and will stay away from dust thus giving time heels to get healed up.
    • In winters, try to wear socks regularly as the skin gets dry thus being more susceptible to get cracked.
    • Avoid wearing ill-fitted and biting shoes.
    • Consult a doctor as soon as possible if the problem is a result of a disease like diabetes.
    • Increase water intake and try to avoid alcohol and caffeine for these are responsible for making the skin dry thus making the conditions worse.
  • Prefer wearing heel pads or heel cups if you are overweight. This would prevent the heels form expanding sideways and thus get cracked.

Tips and precautions

Although cracked heels can be treated easily through the above treatment options and home remedies, the condition of cracked heels can be avoided by following the below-mentioned tips and precautions. These include;

    • Avoid wearing open heeled and thin sole shoes.
    • After coming home from a long day out, soak the feet alternately in hot and cold water. You can also add some amount of salt to this water.
    • Wear shoes which feature good shock absorbing soles.
    • Avoid using metal objects or chemical pads
    • Avoid picking or peeling on thickened and callous skin on heels
    • Treat fungal infection immediately
    • Use an effective foot cream
    • Use a daily foot strength antiperspirant
  • Avoid using extremely hot water while showering or bathing

To conclude with, cracked heels are a common problem which is not as difficult to be treated as it seems to be. It can be treated and also prevented by following an effective care and hygiene regime.

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