Cracked heels are a rather prevalent foot condition, often referred to as heel fissures. They are caused by dry skin and made much more complicated if the skin around the side of the rearfoot is thickened. They may be painful to stand on and the cracks in the skin could bleed. Many people tend to have a normally dry skin that makes your skin easy to tear. The thickened dry skin (callus) around the heel which is more likely to break is usually resulting from weight bearing factors that increase pressures about the rearfoot (eg the way you move).
Factors that could be also involved in the reason for cracked heel skin include:
* continuous weight bearing
* being obese
* open rearfoot in the shoes
* some medical conditions increase the risk to a dry skin (for example diabetes mellitus)
* skin problems (eg skin psoriasis)
Self management for cracked heels:
* Using an oil based moisturizing cream two times a day is really important in order to get on top of cracked heels. an abrasive pad is useful to decrease the thickness of the callused skin. It is important to steer clear of open back shoes or thin sole shoes.
* It is best not to try and debride the harder skin by yourself with a blade or a pair of scissors. There's a possibility of an infection developing and taking too much off.
The podiatric managment of cracked heels may include the following:
* looking into the explanation for the problem, so this can be treated
* getting rid of the hard thick skin through debriding it (often the cracks will likely not get better unless the skin isn't taken off). This may have to be done regularly. Regular debridment could be the the easy way avoid the problem.
* when the cracked heels are very painful, strapping is available to 'hold' the cracks with each other while they mend (a routine maintenance program next to stop it happening again is really important).
* using an emollient as well as advice regarding the most appropriate lotion or cream.
* assistance with shoes and self-care of the condition.
* insoles could be used to change the way you walk for preventing the callused skin from developing (they are suggested for cases of heel callus and are not well suited for everyone).
* a rearfoot cup might be used to keep the fat pad from expanding laterally. This is worn inside of the footwear and may be helpful for prevention if used regularly.
* on rare occasions some Podiatric physicians as well as Dermatologists have tried a skin adherent to hold the sides of the skin together, so the splits may recover.