How to Look After Your Feet in the Summer

Summer might almost be over, but the chances are that you’ve fallen prey to at least one of the common problems your feet face in this hottest of seasons – blisters, sweat and fungal infections, or even sunburn. Here’s how to walk into autumn with your best foot forward – just remember these tips next year as well.

Trim your toenails neatly

Use a pair of decent sharp clippers and remember to cut straight across the nail, maintaining a millimetre or so of nail growth. Don’t cut them into a rounded shape, or cut them too short, as this can lead to ingrowing toenails, which will ruin your summer.

Keep your feet as bare as you dare

If it’s really hot, go barefoot as often as possible or at least wear open-toed sandals. This doesn’t apply to communal changing or showering areas, though, unless you want to be reading all about verrucae at northwichfootclinic.co.uk

Ditch the flip-flops

Flip-flops and insubstantial sandals just don’t offer enough support for your feet and can be a major source of arch and heel problems if you wear them for days at a time.

Change your socks every day

If you can’t avoid socks, change them at least once a day and aim for pairs that are made from at least 70% cotton.

Remove hard skin

Open sandals, especially if they have cupped edges, can cause ridges of hard skin especially around the heels. These ridges can dry and crack, which is very painful, so make sure you exfoliate and moisturise this hard skin to keep your feet supple.

Prevent blisters

Blisters are more common in summer as we ditch socks and swap them for sandals and those flip-flops. If you have new sandals, stretch them by wearing them around the house with fluffy socks for a while. You can also use lip balm to lubricate your feet. If you do develop a blister, put a plaster on it rather than pop it. If it does pop on its own, apply antiseptic cream.

Lose the nail polish for a few days

Summer means colourful toes, but wearing nail polish all the time can cause discolouration and hide fungal infections, so go au naturel every now and then.

Watch out for infections

Summer also means swimming pools, communal showers and hotel saunas. Which in turn means verrucae and athlete’s foot. Make sure you wear shower sandals in changing areas and at the poolside.

Stop sweat

If you have sweaty feet, they’ll be worse in the summer, so wash them every morning and evening. Dry them thoroughly then use a peppermint and tea tree oil foot cream to tackle bacteria and keep your feet smelling fresh.

Use sunscreen

It’s not just for your face and shoulders – your feet get a lot of exposure to the sun, so make sure they’re protected. This goes for your nails, too – a coat of white nail polish is as good as sunscreen, so layer it on.