This is the 2nd in a series on your heels and foot care. First we took a look at the 7 Causes of Cracked Heels and why you get them.  As professionals in spa industry, we take foot care and heel care seriously. This second article focuses on the symptoms.  The main focal point is to be preventative with your foot care, so that you can avoid the health issues that come from not taking care of your feet.

There are many indicators about your health that is “told” by your feet. Your foot health shows if your body is operating properly. The feet are such a vital part of your support, but the farthest from the heart. This means that the nutrients and oxygen meant for the body to be healthy sometimes don’t make it to the feet. Diseases and skin issues are just a indicator that something else is going on in the body and we need to take heed.

Starting with the symptoms that are not quite as critical and working to the worst, we will cover the main symptoms of cracked heels.

Itchy Skin is caused from top layers of skin being too dry, and not hydrated enough. The upper layers of skin actually shrink, causing the skin below to spread out. This shrinkage of the skin from being over dry results in the itchiness. The remedy for itchy skin is to exfoliate the dead skin. This can be done with a professional pedicure or a stainless steel pedicure foot filecombined with a soft foot scrub. The scrub exfoliates the upper dead skin while a foot cream containing oils or other lipids to keep the feet soft.

Flaky Patches or Red Patches result from dry skin. The skin can be dry from two sources, lack of lipids (oils) in the skin or lack of water (hydration) in the skin. Both can come from external and internal sources. The lack of lipids internally results from a lack of omega 3’s and omega 6’s in the skin. The lack of hydration comes from the lack of water. Not only is it good to fix the hydration internally, but it helps to use products externally that help with dry feet. One product developed by Footlogix, a Pediceutical foot care company,  is theFootlogix 3 Very Dry Skin Formula. This Bella star product helps to lock in moisture without being greasy.

The first two symptoms lead to the eventual cracking and peeling of the feet. At this point, the skin has gotten very dry and brittle. You may also have fungus issues as toe and foot fungus may go along with the dry skin. The skin on the feet can be so dry that it actually cracks the soles of the foot and the skin starts falling off. At this point, some people may pick or pull at the skin. This is something that should be done by a professional, as the new skin underneath will not have a tough enough surface. It is critical that you start taking care of your feet, because the next symptom puts you at total risk of infections.

Now you have a serious problem, because the skin on the feet is completely compromised. The dryness or fungus or yeast has affected the upper layers of the skin. This in turn has hurt the soles of the feet (the lower layers of skin) with cracks, gashes, and cuts. The cracks can now affect your health with infections, bacteria, germs and fungus. It is critical that you get care and products. Consult a podiatrist and use anti-fungus or anti-bacterial foot products. Applying foot care products, wearing socks and closed toe shoes is a great start to helping your feet heal. The crevices just like any cut on your body, need to heal. The fact that the crack is on the bottom of the foot, makes it harder to heal.

If you take care of your feet when they are itchy or red or evening peeling,  it will save you from the worst symptoms of cracked heels. Take care of your feet because it affects your health.