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(“Don’t keep them inside your gym bag or they can get moldy and nasty,” says Sutera, who recommends replacing your shower shoes once a year.) For even more insurance, thoroughly dry your feet post-shower and apply tea tree oil, a natural antifungal and antibacterial agent.
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Q: Sometimes my feet go numb and/or tingle. I’m healthy and fit—should I be worried?
A: Those symptoms are common in people with diabetes but could signal less serious issues in healthy folks. If you notice the numbness only when you take your shoes off, your kicks might just be too tight, which can compress the nerves on the top of the feet. The other culprit could be your diet. Gluten allergies or inflammatory foods like refined carbs and sugars can fire up your peripheral nerves and bring on the tingles. Or you just might be lacking in certain B vitamins. Your primary care physician can run blood work to see if you’re deficient. (Many women following vegetarian diets are.) Splichal recommends taking 1,000 micrograms of L-methyl folate three times a day. This is an active form of B complex, crucial since many women don’t have the enzyme to absorb unactivated vitamins. If you’re one of them, you could be peeing it out. Waste!
Q: Help, my feet seem to be getting bigger!
A: Join the club, woman. The tendons and ligaments that support your foot start to loosen in your thirties, and your arch begins to fall. Those two shifts make your foot longer and wider. It’s a subtle growth expansion, though, so your shoes may just need to be stretched out (a cobbler can do this for about $10). Pregnancy can also cause your feet to go up a half or full size—and, in some cases, stay that way postpartum, thanks to the appropriately named hormone relaxin, which makes the ligaments in your body spread and lengthen. Not much you can do about it since your body needs that hormone to birth a babe!
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Q: The smell! What’s behind it, and how can I remedy it, stat?
A: The noxious scent comes when sweat mixes with bacteria on your feet. After your daily wash, sprinkle on a foot powder to absorb excess moisture, leaving bacteria little to feast on. Or, if you’ve got time, brew some black tea and, once it cools, do a 10-minute foot soak every day for a week, which will shrink the sweat glands. If your feet sweat excessively (a.k.a. hyperhidrosis, meaning you’re perspiring through socks), ask your podiatrist for a prescription foot antiperspirant. Botox injections can also help, if you can stand it. “They require literally 100 injections per foot, which is not fun,” says Splichal. It can cost up to $1,000 and isn’t covered by insurance, but it will keep you dry for three to six months.
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Q: I am in my late thirties and can’t bear being in heels for more than 30 minutes. But my 50-year-old friend lives in hers. What?
A: The cushiony fat pads in our soles tend to thin out as we age, making heels unbearable. But “if you wear them regularly, in some cases your body can adapt by replacing those fat pads with thick calluses that can withstand the height,” explains Sutera. Likely what happened to your bud.
Q: How do I treat bunions? Don’t tell me to stop wearing heels for life.
A: Those bony bumps jutting from your big-toe joint are a bitch, and largely genetic. You want to slow their progression by wearing shoes with a roomy toe box. Also, many people with bunions tend to overpronate—the foot rolls inward in motion. Curb that tendency with foot drills that up flexibility in your calves: Press the ball of your bare foot down into the ground while contracting the arch—but without curling your toes. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat five times per foot. Splichal also recommends using a Bunion Bootie ($34, bunionbootie.com)—a thin sock-like device that helps improve ligament flexibility—once a week or after wearing heels. And keep your weight stable. Added pounds aggravate those suckers.
For tips on how to prevent a nasty infection during a pedicure, pick up the September issue of Women’s Health, on newsstands now.
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