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Do you Have Foot Calluses? How to Treat Them

You may not realize you have calluses on your feet until you take a closer look. Maybe you decide to swap your pair of sneakers for sandals and see the yellowish skin around your heel. Maybe you start to massage a sore foot and then feel patches that are dry and rough. It’s common for them to form right under your nose — or in this case, under your feet, without any notice.

What is a callus?

Calluses appear on the bottoms of your feet when they are dealing with lots of friction and pressure. As a reactionary measure, the skin thickens and hardens, acting as a protective hide. Here are some common situations that create a lot of friction on the bottoms of your feet:

Wearing shoes that are too big for your feet

Wearing shoes that are too small for your feet

Not wearing socks with shoes

Wearing ill-fitting socks

Walking on the floor barefoot

What is the difference between a corn and a callus?

Calluses are hardened skin that appears on the soles of your feet and usually has the same thickness throughout. Corns tend to appear on the tops of your feet or toes along with boney prominences. In comparison to calluses, foot corns are much smaller in size and because they have a hard, deep centre, they are usually painful to the touch. They are also caused by friction from ill-fitting shoes and poor foot care.

If you have corns, you should see a chiropodist specialist in Toronto to have them safely remove the growths with a surgical scalpel, especially when you are living with diabetes or coronary disease. To help slow down their return, a chiropodist may recommend offloading pads or custom foot orthotics depending on the circumstance.

How do you get rid of it?

In some cases, you can remove foot calluses at home by soaking your feet in warm water at night to soften the skin, making sure to towel them off completely once you’re done. Then, use a callus remover to shave some of the dry skin off in the morning. Do not get overzealous with the shaving. You don’t want to break the skin.

If you have diabetes, you shouldn’t remove the callus on your own. You should see a chiropodist to perform careful foot callus removal so that you don’t have to worry about accidentally cutting or scraping the skin. A small mistake could prompt a serious foot infection. Here at the Feet First Clinic, we will prioritize your health and safety.

If the callus is painful, uncomfortable, or resurfacing often, you should also visit the clinic for foot callus removal.

Getting your calluses removed is one step. You also must make sure you fix the issues that got them to show up in the first place:

Get shoes that fit properly

Get socks that fit properly

Don’t walk around barefoot

It’s incredibly important for you to get supportive shoes that fit, especially if you are an avid runner or jogger. The friction from physical activity will make you susceptible to this condition, along with other painful foot problems caused by frequent friction and improper footwear.

The wrong shoes can lead to blisters, blackened toenails, arch pain, knee pain and shin splints. You can click here read more about common fitness injuries that can be alleviated through careful treatment, orthopedic footwear and custom orthotics.

Most calluses won’t seem like a big deal. They will often look and feel unpleasant to touch. They appear harmless — but they are warning signs telling you that your footwear and your foot care need to improve as soon as possible.

Here’s to Many More Years of Foot Care!

At Feet First Clinic, we’re always excited to welcome new clients! After a successful 12 years of treating our amazing patients, we’re ready to continue offering only the best foot care services and products. Give us a call to ask our friendly staff any questions you may have! Our Toronto foot specialists are ready to help!

Call us at 416-769-3338 or Book Your Assessment Today!

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Carolina Charles

Patient Relation Coordinator (She/Her)

If you’ve been to the clinic before, chances are you had the pleasure of meeting Carolina! Carolina’s daily goal is going above and beyond to make sure patients are always completely satisfied. Having worked in the podiatry industry for 22 years, Carolina brings a wealth of knowledge pertaining to client service, insurance policies, and procedures.​ She steers the ship to make sure everything runs smoothly on the daily. Carolina is known for spicing up every outfit with her signature costume jewellery.