Your feet take a beating in the summer – literally. Sure, there’s the pounding they take from all those great summer activities, but all that gets compounded by the scorching summer heat.
You can take care of your feet, and still look fabulous, by just following some simple tips.
Your feet perspire for a reason, to cool off – and that perspiration needs to evaporate in order to cool off your feet. If you wear footwear that doesn’t breathe, your perspiration has nowhere to go, and your feet just get hotter and sweat even more – and warm, damp feet are a perfect breeding ground for fungal infections such as athlete’s foot, a mold-like organism growing on your skin.
Instead, wear sandals or shoes made of cloth or leather that helps to wick away moisture from your skin. It’s the wicking action that actually cools your feet.
However, once your shoes have absorbed all the moisture they can, they stop cooling your feet. To help, wear socks. They can be no-show or low-cut socks, but they should have at least some cotton content to help wick away moisture. You dramatically reduce the chances of athlete’s foot simply by wearing socks.
Make sure you alternate your footwear, too. Your shoes need at least 24 hours after wearing them to completely dry out. Dry shoes absorb more moisture, cool your feet better, and feel better, too. If you simply avoid wearing the same shoes two days in a row, you should be fine.
Want to help your feet even more? Use foot powder.
Most all foot powders also contain antifungal medication and antiperspirants in addition to powder – so you get triple-action help for your feet. The powder helps wick away moisture, the antiperspirant helps reduce perspiration and moisture, and the antifungal medication helps prevent athlete’s feet.
Foot powders also have the added benefit of reducing friction against the skin, which in turn reduces possible areas of irritation or blisters.
Most every foot powder has the same active ingredients – so feel free to pick the one that smells the best.
Aerosol foot powders have the extra advantage of going on thinner. They don’t cake-up as much in your shoes, so they’re more discrete. After all, who wants to take off their shoes and have foot powder flying out all over the place?
By following these simple tips, your feet should stay nice and cool this summer – and healthy, too.
By Dr. Yavor Geshev, DPM, FACPM
