BLOG - REGULAR BLOG BY JANET McGROGGAN - PRINCIPAL PODIATRIST 

Posts from October 2017

Silver is known for its antibacterial properties and has been impregnated into wound dressings and household plasters because of this.  
 
But the benefits of silver extend far beyond this and silver socks provide benefits for many conditions. 
Week three of winter foot care.  
 
Now you have your shoes and are treating your nails it is time to look at hard skin. 
 
You really cannot beat a trip to a HCPC registered podiatrist to have all your hard skin removed to give you the best start to regular maintenance. You podiatrist will debride your hard skin (Callus) using a scalpel and sanding discs. Then it is over to you. 
It’s the second week of getting your feet ready for winter and this is the perfect time to prep your nails for next summer. 
 
A big toe nail can take up to a year to grow out and if you have ever dropped something on your toe or bruised a nail during running you will know this as you painstakingly watch the blacked old nail grow out. 
 
So as soon as it is sock time think nail care. 
 
For fungal nails this is the perfect time to try the Lacuna Method of treatment which I have blogged about before. If your fungal nails are beyond the Lacuna Method a course of Terbinafine from your GP should do the job. 
 
• If you have been wearing metallic nails throughout the summer you may find a whitish colour on the top layer of nail when you finally remove the varnish. 
• If you have been wearing reds or dark colours you may have a yellow or brown staining on the top layer of nail. 
• If you have had a cured gel nail polish applied over the summer you may find the nails weak and brittle when the polish is removed by your beautician. 
OK it’s time to get those feet ready for Winter, this is preparation time. Let’s do a week by week preparation. 
 
In a back to front way Foot Wear is first. 
 
This is a time of year I struggle to cope with regarding footwear. I want a shoe that understands that my feet have been footloose (erm) and fancy free in Fitflops or Birkenstocks all summer. They have been supported underneath but totally unrestricted on the top. 
 
I do not want a pair that look like school shoes which in my 40’s still haunts me. Nor do I want a pair that say…. This gal is 40 and has lost her mind.