Pre-Summer Foot Care - Part 1 Callus

Summer is right around the corner and with it comes more time spent outdoors. Activities like running, walking, hiking, adventure racing, backpacking or fastpacking – all stress our feet. Now is the time to start pre-summer foot care. We’ll talk about this in several parts. Part one will talk about calluses.

     Calluses are controversial. A callus is thickened skin caused by recurring pressure and friction—usually a sign of ill-fitting footwear. Many people feel calluses help protect their feet from blistering. They can – but they again, they might not. The problem is that when, not if, you blister underneath calluses - these deep blisters are almost impossible to drain and treat. The hard callus rubs against any pressure point in your shoe (side of the heel or forefoot, ball of the foot, bottom of the toes, etc.) and when the rubbing has continued long enough, and/or with enough pressure, the callus begins to move against the deep layers of skin – and you have a blister.

     My suggestion is to work at reducing your calluses with creams and file them as smooth as possible. Some small callus is okay, but I would keep them fairly soft and thin. The thicker and harder they are, and the longer it takes to reduce them.    

     Buy an inexpensive callus file at your local drug store, or a pumice stone, and file the callus after showering or bathing. You also should also purchase a callus cream to apply after using the file.

     A bit of foot care before summer will help your footwear fit better and your feet feel more comfortable.