Your custom orthotics provide support that’s unique to you! Give yourself twice the amount of support for $200* and redeem our second pair orthotic offer today. Having a second pair of custom foot orthotics saves patients significant time, money, hassle and the recurring question: “now which shoes did I leave my orthotics in?”. Call your local clinic to get your second pair* today.
Read more
Are you an expectant mum with a sudden onset of foot and leg pains or problems? Research shows that expectant mums tend to have a surge of hip, knee and foot pain during the second and third trimesters, which can linger into the postpartum period.
Read more
While we may never truly know the extent of how our mothers care for us, we do know how much time they spend on their feet – all day! So for mum, it’s important to be able to walk comfortably and stay pain-free on her feet – and that’s where we can help. With Mother’s Day fast approaching next month on May 9th, we’ve shared five ways that you can help your mum feel great and look great on her feet.
Read more
Whether you’re a new parent or a mum of four, looking after your little ones can mean being on your feet all day, every day. You need shoes that are comfortable, practical and supportive, yet look great and do a very important job: help prevent foot pain from developing.
Here are My FootDr’s 2021 top picks for busy mothers and why.
Read more
With parts of our country moving in and out of lockdown and us spending more time at home, our feet can quickly become the last thing on our minds. With them still working hard for us with every step we take, your podiatry team here at My FootDr have shared a six-step routine to easily treat your feet at home.
Read more
Frustrated by patches of dry, thick skin on your feet? Whether they’re causing you pain, making it difficult for you to wear shoes comfortably, or you simply don’t like the way they look, removing dead skin from the feet can give immense relief while being painless – when done safely and correctly.
Today, the Podiatrists at My FootDr are sharing everything you need to know about dead skin on the feet, including preventing it before it starts, and how to remove it safely.
We call this dead skin callus, and it develops as part of a natural process where your body responds to excess pressure or friction to an area of the foot by adding new skin in these specific spots. This creates a protective barrier which prevents the friction from damaging the skin over your feet, which may otherwise cause a skin tear, leaving you vulnerable to infection, pain and other problems.
If your dead skin appears flakier than thickened, then you may have skin dryness, an Athlete’s foot fungal infection, or other skin condition like psoriasis.
Having patches of dead skin on the feet is not a reason to sound alarm bells, especially when present in small amounts without discomfort. However, it is important to understand the warning signs and what to look out for, particularly when the callus becomes quite thick. You should consider having the callus safely removed when:
Often, when we remove callus in our clinic, we find that there are also one or multiple corns present beneath the callus that adds to the painful problem. See the difference between corns and calluses here.
When callus is removed correctly, it is not painful, as it is dead skin with no nerve endings or blood supply. Unfortunately, we see many people after they have attempted to reduce their calluses at home but have created a set of new problems as a result. Some remove too much callus, painfully cutting into the healthy skin beneath. Remember – the callus developed as a natural body response to unnatural or excessive pressure or friction, so it’s important to leave a layer intact to continue to protect the foot, and never remove too much so that you cause skin damage.
Others use pharmacy medications, often acid-based, to ‘eat away’ at the callus. Unfortunately, these often come in size-specific coverings, and will get to work on whichever area of the skin they come into contact with – whether it is callused or not. This means the acid can move onto the healthy skin and cause significant pain and damage.
The safest way we recommend to remove the dead skin is to have it professionally removed by your podiatrist. This is particularly important if your feet are already at risk from conditions like diabetes, problems with blood flow or healing, and the like. Here at My FootDr, we carefully debride the right amount of callus to give you relief and comfort while keeping your feet protected and minimising your risk of infection. If any corns are present beneath the callus or on other areas of your feet, we’ll remove these too.
While callus is easily treated by our experienced podiatrists, its development can also be prevented or slowed. Our top tips are for prevention are:
If you do have callused dead skin and want it gone in one appointment, we’re here to help. We’re proud to be your trusted local podiatry providers, committed to delivering exceptional service, every time.
Book your appointment with us online here or call us on 1800 FOOT DR.
Do you have swollen feet or ankles after you’ve been sitting, standing or walking in a hot environment? You’re not alone. Medically known as heat oedema, this uncomfortable swelling generally occurs because the heat from your environment causes your blood vessels to naturally expand (dilate). As they do, fluid can leak into the surrounding tissues. Pair this with gravity encouraging the passage of larger volumes of fluid down into the legs, and you’ve got swollen feet, ankles and even legs.
Read more
Every year, the average Australian takes over 2.7 million steps. That’s a lot of weight, pressure, heat and kilometres for our feet to cover – and often with little rest or breaks in between. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we thought we’d swap out the notion of roses and chocolate with a thoughtful gift that will be very welcome by your partner or yourself – caring for your feet.
Here are five ways that your local My FootDr clinic can help care for and pamper your feet this Valentines Day – while doing your feet a world of good medically speaking to keep you going through all those steps.
Cosmetic nail restoration is loved by both men and women, and those that:
It’s also the perfect solution to improve the appearance of toenails in one appointment for those that don’t want to risk substandard safety and hygiene protocols, and hence infection risk, reported to be found in many traditional nail salons due to a lack of sterilising instruments between use on multiple people.
Using the KeryFlex proven nail restoration system, our experienced and board-registered podiatrists create a flexible, non-porous and realistic looking nail over your existing nail. It is durable and is unaffected by acetone, nail polishes or detergents – meaning you can paint it as you please! Aside from the immediate improvement in appearance, your natural nail will continue to grow out beneath the new nail.
Learn more about Keryflex here.
Our skin and nail care appointments, often referred to as ‘general or clinical podiatry’, are comprehensive and all-inclusive appointments that immediately care for your nail and skin concerns, give your feet a fantastic tidy-up, and leave you feeling much more comfortable on your feet than when you first walked in.
With the majority of our patients having these appointments every 6-8 weeks to keep their feet feeling great and in tip-top shape year round, we welcome you to experience this foot care, completed by our experienced podiatrists, as a one-off treat, too. Your podiatrist will take care of any lumps, bumps and even the thickest or curliest of toenails. This includes:
We love these appointments due to the immediate relief patients feel when they put their feet down on the floor after this care – which is often the difference between feeling like they’re constantly walking on a pebble (of hard skin beneath their feet) and feeling like they’re walking on air.
While some people get away with minor cracks that can be cared for in a skin & nail care appointment (above), after a long summer and many months of wearing thongs – which many still wear daily – cracked heels are a big problem around this time, that we see and treat very effectively with these specific appointments.
As cracked heels start with hard, dry skin that thickens and worsens over time, our podiatrists work to remove all the excess dead skin – a process that is usually simple and painless using our sterile instrument range. We ensure that no sharp edges are left that will catch on your carpet or socks, which could otherwise pull the skin, creating significant damage.
Treating cracked heels now, and not at the end of the summer, is a great preventative measure to stop cracks progressing deep down into the healthy, supple skin beneath. We call this the danger zone, as deep cracks in this area can quickly leave you vulnerable to infection by creating portals of entry for bacteria, fungus, viruses – and a great deal of pain – that you often can’t reach on your own.
Our shoes become the ground we walk on and determine what and how our feet feel. That’s why if you choose your ground to be a hard plastic, the chances of your feet feeling tired and achy, or the chance of you developing foot pain, is much higher.
This is exactly why so many of our clinics offer a footwear range so you can try on and get the best shoes for your feet – and not just that feel great, but fit your foot type, too. We have podiatrists and trained staff available to ensure you get the best fit and maximum comfort.
Don’t have a My FootDr near you? That’s okay! We have an online store too.
Finally, the best way we can think of to treat your feet this Valentine’s Day – or help your loved ones treat theirs – is to care for those lingering aches, pains or injuries. You know, the ones you may be hoping will get better on their own, or that you know you need to have seen, but it’s been a crazy last 12 months (which it absolutely has!).
This is done through a biomechanical appointment, where our experienced podiatrists look at:
Alongside your history and a series of other questions, this consultation will determine the how, what and why of what’s going on – followed by an optimal plan to get you pain-free and feeling great!
Our podiatry team are ready when you are! As the largest podiatry provider in Australia, we’re proud to be your trusted local podiatry providers, committed to delivering exceptional service, every time. Book your appointment with us online here or call us on 1800 FOOT DR.
We all buy shoes straight off the shelf, yet our feet are all different shapes and sizes. So how do you know if your shoe is right for you, particularly as you get older when you are at a higher risk of aches, pains, having a bunion, or sustaining a fall-related injury?
Read more