You love your mani-pedis. Who doesn’t? The last couple of times you’ve gone though, you have been slightly annoyed by a pedicurist who doesn’t mind telling you they think you should see your doctor about your feet. You may think they are just a beautician who doesn’t know anything about foot health, but they probably know more than you think. Do not ignore their concerns.
Truth be told, a lot of us don’t pay attention to foot health as much as we should. Sure, we are good about wearing clean socks and keeping our toenails clipped. We treat our shoes with a shoe and foot deodorizer. We might even pamper ourselves with a bit of foot powder every now and again. But there is more to foot health than just eliminating odors.
What most of us do not realize is that some foot health problems are indicative of much more serious conditions. Pedicurists spend all day looking at feet. They have been trained to recognize certain types of foot problems for their own health and safety. Between training and experience, a lot of them can spot the signs of some very serious problems.
Signs of Diabetes
Diabetes patients are constantly encouraged by their doctors to take diligent care of their feet. Being the appendage furthest from the heart, the feet are prone to suffering some of the adverse effects of diabetes, not the least of which is neuropathy.
Interestingly, some diabetes sufferers go undiagnosed until they notice a problem with their feet. Foot problems that could be indicative of diabetes include:
- stabbing pains
- tingling and loss of sensation
- hair loss (on the legs and ankles, too)
- sores that do not seem to heal
- unexplained swelling
- feet that do not sweat.
Any concerns from your pedicurist that your feet show signs of diabetes should not be ignored. Take them as a suggestion to see your doctor. If you are not diabetic, a medical exam could still uncover other foot problems you may have. If you are diabetic, getting to the doctor as soon as possible could actually save your feet in the long run.
Spotting Melanoma
It turns out that trained pedicurists are also pretty good at spotting potential melanomas. Melanomas of the feet usually appear either on the sole of the foot or under a toenail – two places that most of us don’t get a good view of on our own. Having a pedicure also means having an extra set of eyes taking a look.
To you and me, that spot under the toenail looks like nothing more than a bruise. Too bad we don’t even know where it came from. But to a trained pedicurist, the spot looks more like a melanoma than a bruise. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to get it checked out? If it is a bruise, no harm done. But if it’s melanoma, taking the advice of the person who does your nails could save your life.
Pay Attention to Your Feet
None of this is to say that you should panic if a manicurist or pedicurist expresses concerns about your feet. Rather, it is an encouragement to not shrug off those concerns as nothing. At least pay attention to what your feet might be telling you. Visit your doctor and get them looked at.
Meanwhile, we hope you’ll take a look at ShoeFresh. We think it is the best shoe odor eliminator on the market; we think you’ll agree. ShoeFresh eliminates foul odors and prevents them from coming back for months. Regularly treat all your shoes and you’ll never have to worry about foul odors again.