5 Important Things To Know About Toe Jam

Many of us are often ignorant about cleaning our feet thoroughly, and think that just having water flow over the feet is enough to ensure good feet hygiene. If you too belong to this league, it is time to give it a serious second thought. Improper cleaning of feet together with some common and yet improper activities could often trigger a condition like “toe jam.” Here are five important things you need to know about the condition.

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What is it?

Put simply, toe jam refers to the development of residue and debris between the toes. When left improperly cleaned, areas between the toes can become a breeding ground for debris, which in turn leads to the onset of fungal infections.

Common causes

Some of the common factors that can contribute to toe jam include:

· Dry skin: Conditions like psoriasis, eczema etc can trigger dry skin flakes that can merge with sweat, thus creating gunk between the toes.

· Sock lint: Seemingly harmless sock lint, which refers to the fuzzy bits of particles that rub off between the toes, can lead to toe jam.

·  Foot problems: Corns, which are thickened layers of the skin, can develop between the toes. Often sweat or other sources of moisture come into contact with the corns to make them softened, which can lead to toe jam.

·  Athlete’s foot: Fungal infections like athlete’s foot develop in moist, warm environments like shoes, and can become a source of toe jam.

Factors that could make you more prone to toe jam than others

  

Although causes of toe jam are almost unavoidable, certain factors like footwear choice, medical conditions, and certain lifestyle factors can make you more vulnerable to developing gunk between your toes. For instance, people who usually sweat excessively, individuals who keep standing for a prolonged time, people who wear shoes with poor ventilation, and those who are overweight, tend to be more vulnerable to developing a toe jam.

Could toe jam lead to or indicate more serious health conditions?

Just as people having psoriasis or eczema are more prone to suffer from toe jam,  it can also be an indicator that you may be suffering from one of these conditions, though you may not yet have been diagnosed with these ailments. Apart from psoriasis and eczema, toe jam may even indicate bacterial infection.

In cases where an infection triggers toe jam, it may quickly lead to a serious medical condition like cellulitis, where the bacterial infection spreads up the leg and could even require the patient to be hospitalized. Usually, people with pre-existing diseases like diabetes, or those with reduced immunity (such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy) are found to be more prone to toe jam that quickly turns serious.

Steps to prevent toe jam

You can reduce the risk of developing toe jam by addressing the triggering factors. Additionally, you need to maintain good foot hygiene to prevent the condition, which includes:

·    Using a pumice stone to smoothen calluses and corns.

       ·    Thoroughly washing your feet including the areas between the toes, usually with soap and water, and drying them properly.

       ·    Preventing infection and keeping the areas between the toes dry by sprinkling cornstarch or talcum powder.

       ·    Washing new socks before wearing them to lower the amount of lint coming off them.

While it may not be possible to control the medical conditions or circumstances that enhance the likelihood of developing toe jam, it is always easy to follow the above steps to prevent it. However, if you still suspect that you may be having a fungal infection or toe jam, it is strongly advisable to reach out to a podiatrist to get treated right away.

A guide to choosing athletic shoes

The wrong type of footwear

Many foot problems arise due to wearing ill fitting footwear. People think formal footwear or evening footwear when they talk about bad fitting footwear. There is a wide range of athletic footwear available in the market. What do you do when your old shoes are worn out and you need new ones? You go to your favorite footwear store, and pick up a shoe that looks good and feels good. You walk about in it, up and down the shop and if it feels comfortable, you buy it. Little do you realize that choosing the right kind of athletic footwear is as important! 

If you are a couch potato who does minimal to no exercise at all, any pair of shoes is fine. But if you do any kind of exercise, like gyming, jogging, walking etc, you need to find the right footwear that will support that kind of activity. If you are into more athletic activities like basketball or football, even if it is in the park with your colleagues or friends, it pays to buy the right kind of shoes. 

Tips to buying good athletic shoes

Every kind of exercise uses different parts of your feet. You know that different muscles are used for different sports. You can feel the tension in those muscles when performing that activity. Likewise, different spots of your feet get stressed when participating in different kinds of sports. The shoes that you wear should support the area of stress, depending on the activity that you are performing. 

Test your foot

The first step to choosing the right shoes is to understand your feet. The best way to do that is to look at your last pair of worn out shoes. Check and see which parts of the shoes are worn out. Depending on your activity and the shape of your foot and your gait, the shoe will be more worn out in certain areas. Now you know which part of your feet needs more cushioning and support.

Read up on shoes

There is a lot of material online about the different kinds of shoes available. This is not merely marketing. Most shoes these days are tested thoroughly, and used by sportspeople, before being vetted as good for that particular activity.

Talk to your podiatrist

If you have any kind of foot problem it is a good idea to talk to your podiatrist and get their inputs. They could also give you more information on splints and guards to protect your feet.

Ask the salespeople

The salesperson knows the products inside out. If you explain to them the kind of activity that you indulge in, they will be able to help you find a shoe that is designed for that activity.

Don’t multi task shoes

Many people use the same shoes for running, basketball, skipping etc. If you regularly do a number of different sports at the same time, you should have shoes that complement that sport. Otherwise by using the wrong shoe for the wrong sport, you could end up injuring yourself. For example, walking shoes are stiff, running shoes are flexible. If you alternate regularly between both these exercises, you should have different shoes for each. 

Be aware of foot change

Due to sports or age and many other reasons, the shape of your feet and your stress points could change. So you should check your old shoes for new worn out spots, and see a podiatrist and get advice before getting new shoes.

Remember, shoes can make or break your foot!