How to Treat and Prevent Dry, Cracked Heels

Exfoliation is one of the steps toward relieving your cracking heels.

Taking care of your feet is as important as taking care of your face, but often people neglect their feet until they develop problems. Among the conditions your feet can experience is dryness so severe that the skin cracks. There are several remedies for dry and cracking feet, though not all of them work for everybody. Sometimes dry and cracked heels are not just dry and cracked: You may have a fungal infection that you need to treat before you can overcome dryness and cracking.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Clotrimazole cream
• Nail file
• Petroleum jelly
• Thick socks

1. Scrub the dry, dead skin off your heels with a nail file or an exfoliating pumice. This method works just as well as the Ped Egg.

2. Apply Clotrimazole, an antifungal cream. You can get this at any drugstore or general merchandiser. Follow the directions on the package. It usually takes about four weeks to treat. Make sure when applying this at night that you use a pair of fairly thick socks to help lock the medication in. You should start noticing a difference within days. Repeat this process for the full term of treatment, even if it appears you have no fungus.

3. Apply a generous amount of petroleum jelly to your heels after the Clotrimazole treatment is complete, at night before bedtime. Rub the petroleum jelly into the cracks and skin well. Wear your socks to bed. Repeat this step every night.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid going into public showers without flip-flops or some type of wet shoes. Fungal infections are easily spread in a moist damp environment.

• Avoid taking baths that are too hot. Hot water dehydrates the skin even more, leaving it susceptible to infection.

• Avoid wearing open-heeled shoes such as sandals and flip-flops. These types of shoes contribute to having dry heels.

References

• ePodiatry.com: Cracked Heels