With the Winchester Weigh Down in full swing, many of you are up and moving, and that means on your feet. Did you know the human foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments, 250,000 sweat glands and hundreds of thousands of miles of blood vessels, including arteries, veins and capillaries?
If you think about it, each foot carries half the weight of our body. In addition, an average day of walking exerts several hundred pounds of pressure on each foot. Learning to take care of our feet is important for our overall general health.
Good foot care includes some common day to day practices:
— Do not ignore foot pain. Foot pain is not normal. It can be a sign of foot illness or injury. Be sure to see your doctor for a proper diagnosis.
— Inspect your feet on a daily basis. Look at your feet for color, texture and temperature changes. Look for signs of excessive dryness, redness, paleness and any sores, cracks in the skin, scaly areas, and corns and calluses.
— Inspect your toenails while doing your foot inspection. Look for thick or discolored nails or any abnormal looking or painful toenails.
— Perform routine nail care. Trim you toenails straight across. Don’t cut them too short.
— Make sure you wear properly fitting shoes. Buy new shoes late in the day because your feet will be at their largest.
— Replace worn out shoes on a regular basis.
— Match your shoes to your activity: walking shoes for walking, running shoes for running.
— Avoid walking barefoot. You could step on sharp objects and injure your feet.
— Avoid home remedies for foot ailments. Always consult a doctor for treatment.
— People with diabetes, poor circulation, high blood pressure, kidney disease or heart problems should see their doctor for foot and nail care because of the increased risk of injury and infection.
Be sure to follow the list of classes with the Winchester Weigh Down on the web at www.winchesterweighdown.com . Also, view our Taste of the Month recipe featuring broccoli. This weeks’ recipe is Broccoli and Beef Stir-fry. You can find this recipe and more at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/clark/.
Jennifer Howard is the Clark County Extension Service agent for family and consumer sciences.
