The question ‘do corns have roots?” gets searched for in Google about 300 times a month. It could be assumed to be done by those who want to know why there ‘corns’ keep coming back and if the reason for that is that they have roots, like plant roots that they grow back from.
Corns on the feet do not have roots. If a corn is removed and it comes back, then that is simply because what caused it in the first place is still there. Unless the cause is removed, then it will come back.
The myth needs to go away and Podiatrists need to do a better job at educating the community about the myth.
Cracked heels develop when the dried skin of the heels split. While it is often the hard, thicker callused outer skin layer (epidermis) that cracks, it can also occur to softer, non-callused (and often dry) skin that is repetitively placed under high pressure when walking. If heel cracks are not, they can progress into fissures, which split the skin at a deeper level and can be very painful.
WHAT CAUSES THE CRACKED HEELS? Dry skin is the reason most people assume they have cracking heels, but there are other factors involved as well such as increased weight, diabetes, neuropathy, poor circulation and poor nutrition can also cause poor foot health.
Symptoms of heel cracks and fissures vary from none to mild to severe. The most apparent sign is the actual cracks in the epidermis of the heels. Other symptoms may include:
Dry, itchy heels Hard skin on the heels Pain when standing or walking Bleeding or infection
HOW ARE CRACKED HEELS TREATED? With proper treatment, cracked heels should not evolve into the more serious fissures. Moisturizing with cream applied to the feet two times a day will help the cracks in most cases. If the outer skin layer is thick, it will need to be reduced by a Podiatrist.
Chilblains are a painful lesion that commonly occurs due to a vasospastic response of the small blood vessels to the colder weather. They start out at reddish painful lesions that may also be itchy. If they become chronic they tend to take on a dark blue color and the skin may break down.
There really have been no advances recently in our understanding and treatment or if you follow all the research on them. Still the best way to manage them is to prevent them with avoiding cold and using good socks and footwear and then if one occurs to use creams to stimulate the circulation. Good wound care is needed if the skin is broken.
Having said that, during the COVID-19 pandemic there have been lots of reports on Chilblains and Covid-19 (Covid Toes). For some reason chilblains are occurring with an increased frequency in those who are infected with the novel coronavirus. A lot of research has gone in to trying to find out why. PodChatLive did a deep dive into those reason: Chilblains and ‘COVID Toes’.
Topical benzoyl peroxide gel 2.5% and 5% can both be used to treat pitted keratolysis according to study results presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting in June, 2020.
“Pitted keratolysis (PK), a common skin disease, is frequently accompanied by pitted lesions on the feet and malodor,” Charussri Leeyaphan, MD, of the department of dermatology, faculty of medicine at the Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Bangkok, and colleagues wrote. “The over-the-counter drug topical benzoyl peroxide gel (BP) is used as a medication for PK. However, the appropriate dosage and duration of BP treatment of PK is controversial.”
Topical benzoyl peroxide gel 2.5% and 5% can both be used treat pitted keratolysis. In a prospective randomized, controlled trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of topical 2.5% BP and 5% BP, 89 subjects diagnosed with PK were analyzed. Subjects were assigned either 2.5% or 5% BP and were asked to apply the topical medication once daily for 2 weeks. Safety and effectiveness were evaluated 2 weeks after treatment via clinical examinations and self-assessments.
Of the 42 subjects that were treated with 2.5% BP, self-evaluation of foot odor using a visual analog scale showed a significant decrease from 5.4 to 3.7 (P < .001). Of 47 subjects treated with 5% BP, the decrease was from 5.4 to 3.5 (P .001).
Pitted lesions were evaluated by treatment-blinded dermatologists, with a 69% improvement for the 2.5% BP group vs. a 63.8% improvement for the 5% BP group. Side effects were not statistically different between the groups, and moderate to high levels of satisfactions were reported from almost all subjects.
“This study demonstrated that either 2.5% or 5% BP can be used for the treatment of PK and foot malodor,” Leeyaphan and colleagues wrote. “Due to the similarities in their efficacies and side effects, the use of 2.5% BP may be preferable.”