> Health and Disease > Skin and Hair > athlete's foot (Tinea pedis)

Did you know that the average person walks approximately 115,000 miles (185,000 kilometres) in a lifetime - about five times the circumference of the earth? That’s one set of tired feet. Here are some ways to soothe them.

Failing Feet

Soaking feet in a basin of warm water with baking soda or Epsom salt can revitalize tired, sore feet but try something new. Extract of plantain also has healing properties. Ask for it at your health food store.

Improve foot strength with silica (500 mg twice daily), calcium (500 mg twice daily), and magnesium (250 mg twice daily). Eat foods with these nutrients (oats for silica, broccoli, almonds, leafy greens for calcium, and bananas, millet, and avocado for magnesium). Vitamin E helps rebuild muscles, so add lots of cold-pressed vegetable and seed oils to your diet, too.

Athlete’s Foot

A common fungal infection, athlete’s foot grows on persistently damp, sweaty feet, between the toes, around toenails, and on callused sections of the sole. It is contagious, frequently spread in the showers and wet floors of public swimming pools and gym changing rooms.

Boosting the immune system can help your feet resist the fungus. Supplementing an optimum regular diet with the healthy bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus also helps fight unhealthy bacteria and fungi.

To treat athlete’s foot, use mugwort, goldenseal root, and black walnut, which all have antifungal properties. Apply oil of oregano or dilute tea tree oil to the affected areas as another remedy. Sprinkle feet with arrowroot powder mixed with goldenseal powder to help keep feet dry during the day.

Corns and Calluses

A painful foot problem, corns and calluses are small, hard patches of skin that develop when tight shoes rub skin the wrong way. Wearing well-fitting, comfortable shoes is vital for prevention.

Some people are more likely to get corns than others, probably due to a pH imbalance in the body. Alkaline foods, such as spinach, cucumber, lemons, apples, cherries, and raspberries, as well as legumes, millet, and buckwheat can help correct the imbalance. Avoid acid-forming foods such as coffee, chocolate, alcohol, and red meat.

Many herbs can be helpful in healing and softening corns and calluses. Vitamin E applied directly to the corn or callus will help. Horsetail can be used internally or externally to make the skin more supple. Take one-half to one teaspoon of diluted tincture three times a day or apply a cream twice daily. Massaging a combination of aloe vera gel and olive oil on the corn or callus also soothes the thickened, painful patches.

Blisters

Ouch! When one section of the foot rubs incessantly on part of a shoe, a layer of skin may detach from the underlying skin. Usually fluid fills the gap between the layers and a blister forms. Short-lived but painful, blisters can be avoided by wearing comfortable shoes on long walks or hikes.

To relieve blister pain and speed healing, dab on tea tree oil diluted in olive oil, calendula ointment, aloe vera gel, or dandelion juice. Or add fresh thyme to a foot bath - the herb makes a soothing antiseptic. Honey is also antibacterial - spread some on a cloth and place the poultice over the blister to draw out moisture and prevent infection.

Bunions

Like so many other foot problems, bunions result from shoes that are too tight and narrow in the toe region. Women are particularly at risk of bunions when they wear “dainty,” constricting shoes and high heels, both of which force the big toe inward. This force causes the bone of the big toe to grow sideways in a bony lump - a bunion.

As with blisters, bunions are relieved by inflammation-reducing foods with vitamins A and C and essential fatty acids. Supplementing with bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapple, can help break down bunions. Take 500 mg three times daily. Excess calcium and poor calcium absorption can lead to bony growths. Supplementing with magnesium to better absorb calcium, as well as decreasing calcium intake, may help. Take 1,000 mg of magnesium daily.

Salves made with calendula or aloe vera gel will relieve soreness and inflammation from the outside, as will foot baths enriched with grated ginger root.

Avoiding Foot Pain

About 80 per cent of adults suffer foot pain, often a direct result of wearing improper shoes. Good shoes protect and cover the foot without interfering with normal walking. They support the arch and cushion the heel and base of the big and little toes, allowing enough room for the feet and toes to spread comfortably when standing.

Well-fitted, comfortable shoes are the best prevention for most foot problems. Throw out those fashionable high heels and step out in some sensible shoes.

Source: alive Encyclopedia of Natural Healing.

Heather Picotte uses her interest in writing to educate others about natural health and healing for both humans and animals. She lives in Winfield, BC with her husband and their cat and chickens.

Source: alive #255, January 2004