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DEFINITON –
Callous is the thickening of the surface layer of the
skin. Build-up of some callous on the feet is normal
and healthy up to a point, but when it builds up too
much, callous becomes very hard and dries out, it may
then crack the skin and hence become painful.
  CAUSES
– Through everyday walking, standing and bearing
the normal pressures of movement, your feet are sometimes
subjected to a lot of friction or pressure on specific
parts of your feet’s skin. Corns and callous are
a natural response of the body, to continuous pressure
or friction in specific areas of the foot. Corns and
excessive callous can therefore be the symptoms of underlying
problems and may be early warning signs of abnormalities
in the bone structure or in the way you walk. They can
also be caused by ill-fitting or inappropriate footwear.
Elderly people tend to develop more callous quickly
because they have less fatty tissue in their feet to
act as protective cushioning.
TREATMENT –
Since excessive callous and corns are often symptoms
of other problems, it is important to have a podiatrist
check your feet and find the cause of the callous or
corns. Excessive callous and painful corns can be regularly
pared back and gently removed by a podiatrist but to
prevent them from reoccurring, the pressure on the foot
needs be redistributed for long term relief. This can
be achieved by wearing arch support insoles (also called
“orthotics”) which will correct the way
someone walks and redistribute the continuous pressure
or friction in specific areas of the foot.
Footwear may need to be checked and changed
since properly fitting shoes are essential to prevent
extrafriction. The daily use of a moisturiser on your
feet will help keep your skin supple. For elderly people,
the loss of natural padding can be compensated by wearing
felt padding in the shoes for shock absorption.
For any questions about callous, orthotics,
or what can be done to solve your foot problem, give
us a call.
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