Whenever the body doesn’t feel its best, determining the cause of the pain is necessary, as this allows you to properly treat the discomfort. When it comes to the foot, this is incredibly important, as foot pain can send shivers down your spine and prevent you from even walking. Many culprits may cause foot pain, so understanding the different conditions allows you to diagnose what is causing the pain and how you can go about correcting it.

​Corns and Calluses:

Corns and calluses are common problems causing foot pain, generally produced due to friction through poor-fitting shoes. This can be avoided and corrected by wearing properly fitted shoes and applying moisturizer to the affected area.

​Tinea:

Tinea, a fungal skin infection, appears along the arch of the foot and is easy to pass from one individual to another. Tinea appears in red patches, and is often moist, itchy, and may form into small blisters. The foot pain is avoided when wearing shoes while in public areas, as this is the most common way to catch the foot condition. Should tinea appear, anti-fungal creams are available to correct the issue.

​Bunions:

Bunions are another common foot problem in which the big toe joint becomes large due to the toe leaning inwards. The large toe causes foot pain due to the pressure of the toe. To treat bunions, it is important to wear shoes that fit and completely avoid high heels. In a worst-case situation, surgical correction may be necessary.

Papillomas:

More commonly known as warts, this is a skin condition passed on by a virus. Warts are commonly passed on through public showers and swimming pools. To avoid warts, wearing sandals while showing and in public pools is recommended. There are different ways to treat papillomas. Even though it is possible to wait for the wart out until it dies off, over the counter medication is available that may either freeze or burn the wart off. In extreme cases, we may use a laser to completely remove the wart from the foot.

​Ingrown Toenails:

Ingrown toenails occur when the nail of any toe is not properly cut, resulting in the toenail growing into the foot. To avoid ingrown toenails, avoid cutting the corners of the toenails. Ingrown toenails usually grow out and correct themselves, although surgically removing the ingrown nail is an option.