On your feet in later life
 Carnation Footcare’s expert chiropodist
Kimby Osborne introduces her monthly question
and answer column for laterlife.com
In
our lifetime, we walk the equivalent of four times around the world, so it’s not
surprising that getting older also means that previously minor problems now begin to be
more bothersome. Conditions that have gone unnoticed such as corns or bunions can become
more significant. Check your feet regularly for hard
skin, corns, bunions, and fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. Most problems like this can be solved with over the
counter treatments, but seeing a chiropodist regularly (every 6 months if necessary) is
also more important with age.
|
| Q |
What happens to foot shape and
health when we get older? |
| A |
As
we age, the skin on the feet thins, a development known as skin atrophy, and there is a
loss of the natural fibrous fatty tissue which acts as padding under the foot. Bearing in
mind that this is hardly surprising. |
| Q |
What are the symptoms of this condition? |
| A |
Pain and discomfort. Some people have more
sensitive feet than others. |
| Q |
How can the discomfort be reduced? |
| A |
It is important to wear supporting, well-fitted shoes. Insoles placed inside the
shoes help to spread the weight evenly and cushion the feet. You can buy special insoles
for sensitive feet. Carnation’s
Advanced Pressure Insoles are designed for anyone with sensitive feet and are available
from pharmacies. |
Please go to www.carnationfootcare.co.uk
for more information and advice on footcare.
|
|
| laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com called laterlife interest. laterlife interest contains a variety of articles of
interest for visitors to laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and new
journalists.
It includes both one off
articles and also regular columns of a more specialist nature such as healthwise, reports from the REACH files,
and a beauty section called looking good in later life.
Also don't forget to
take a look at our regular IT question and answer section called YoucandoIT by IT trainer and author Jackie
Sherman.
To view the latest articles and
indexes to previous articles click on laterlife
interest here or above. To search for articles about a certain topic, use the
site search feature below.
|
|
|
| 
