Taking care of your foot health is important at any age, but it’s especially important once you get up there in years. That’s because we’re more prone to certain foot conditions and we don’t tend to heal as quickly when we’re in old age. So today, we want to take a closer look at five ways to care for your feet in your golden years.
Senior Foot Care
If you keep these five tips in mind, we’re confident that you’ll have a great chance at having healthy feet for years to come.
1. Regular Foot Checks – Get in the habit of performing regular foot checks at least once a week if not more often. Look for sores, cuts or changes to your feet. If these problems don’t seem to be healing, or if they are getting worse, set up an appointment with a foot specialist in your area.
2. Exercise – As we get older, our ability to circulate blood begins to decline, and your extremities are the ones who bear the brunt of this decreased circulation. But, if we exercise, we can help to push healthy, oxygenated blood to foot structures that need it the most. Even if it’s just 30-45 minutes of walking on a daily basis, it will help to keep blood circulating to your feet.
3. Keep Them Clean – Another simple but important tip is to keep your feet clean. Regularly wash your feet and scrub them with soap. Bacteria can make their way into wounds and cause complications, while sweat and dirt can contribute to rashes or the onset of athlete’s foot. You can usually perform your regular foot checks while cleaning your feet, meaning you can knock two of these tips out in short order!
4. Manage Your Blood Sugar – If you have diabetes or are considered pre-diabetic, it’s extremely important that you manage your blood sugar. If your levels get out of control, it can lead to nerve damage and inhibited healing in your feet. This is problematic for a number of reasons, but one of the main issues with nerve and circulatory damage is that you may not notice foot injuries as easily, and they may not heal very quickly. Left untreated, it can even lead to amputation of your foot.
5. Treat Small Problems – Finally, if you do notice an issue with your foot, ankle or toe, be sure that you proactively treat the problem. Catching and stopping small foot problems before they snowball into larger issues is key, especially as you get older. Most small problems can be treated rather easily, but if you choose to ignore them or try to push through the pain, the issue often gets worse, and treatment success likelihood begins to dip. If you notice a problem, call a foot specialist.