| Description:
Corns are annoying and sometimes painful thickenings that form in the skin in areas that are being pressed on by underlying bones. They occur on parts of the feet and sometimes the fingers. Corns can be painful to walk on even when they are small. Common locations are:
- On the sole, over the metatarsal arch (the "ball" of the foot);
- On the outside of the fifth (pinky) toe, where it rubs against the shoe; and
- Between the 4th and 5th toes. Unlike other corns which are firm and flesh-colored, corns between the toes are often whitish and messy; they are sometimes called "soft corns."
How to prevent corns
Corns are in most cases are caused from wearing shoes. If we walked barefoot there would be no corns. However, more serious condition would be a result. So unless you live on the beach the few tips will help.
- Wearing comfortable shoes is useful. The idea is to avoid having foot gear press on the outside of the 5th toe, or pressing the 4th and 5th toes together.
- Another approach is to pad the potentially affected area. You can buy many sorts of padding at the drugstore:
- Cushions to put between the toes;
- Foam or moleskin pads to put over the places where corns form;
- Foam pads with holes in the center (like doughnuts or bagels), which redistribute pressure around the corn instead of right over it; and
- Cushioned insoles to pad your feet and alleviate mechanical pressure.
- Arch supports with metatarsal support to reduce the pressure on the ball foot wear most corn are located.
How to help the pain:
Wear shoes that have extra depth toe box room. Not wearing the proper shoes will just accelerate the process and pain. Propers shoes will decrease the pain and slow down further growth and can even eliminate the corn formation.
You can buy many types of medicated products to chemically pare down the thickened, dead skin overlying the corn. These products are share the same active ingredient -salicylic acid.
Salicylic acid is a keratolytic, which means it dissolves the protein (keratin) that makes up most of both your corn and the thick layer of dead skin which often tops it. Used once a day as indicated on the package directions, these products are gentle and safe. All of these treatment will turn the top of the skin white and allow you to trim or peel away dead tissue, making the corn protrude and hurt less.
It generally is recommended that salicylic acid not be used in diabetics or when there is poor circulation (because of concern about how normally the skin can heal |