Foot Care for Hiking

Caring for Your Toenails And Foot Care

Foot care extends to toenails, which should be trimmed straight across the nail and not rounded at the corners. Your big toe, in particular, is more prone to you incurring an ingrowing toenail so you should leave an extra bit of nail on the outside corner to prevent that. Once you've clipped your toenails, smooth the nail down with a file to remove rough edges. Toenails which are too long can cause pressure on the bed of the nail which can result in extreme discomfort and pain if you're hiking.

Caring for the Skin on Your Feet And Hiking

Some people believe that having thick, callused skin on your feet prevents blisters but this isn't true and blisters underneath calluses can be very hard to drain and treat. A callus file and moisture cream can soften problem areas for good foot care, and also helps to heal cracks in the skin of your feet, especially on your heels. If these cracks aren't treated, they can split open and infection can result in the tissue underneath.

Blister Prevention And Hiking

The prevention of blisters can often come down to a personal choice. In addition to ensuring you have well fitting hiking boots or walking shoes and socks, you'll find a vast array of blister prevention products and taping techniques and you should experiment with a few to find one that suits you. Early awareness can also help and you should stop walking if you feel a blister coming on and treat it as soon as possible. It may be caused by some grit or dirt that has got in to your hiking boot and is rubbing against your skin, for example, so you should always stop and fix things as soon as you think there's a problem, otherwise walking on with blisters can be extremely painful and can even reach the stage where you feel as if you can walk no further.

Resting Your Feet When Walking

When it's time to stop for lunch when you're walking, or if you've reached your day's destination and are, perhaps, setting up camp for the night, take your hiking boots and socks off and give your feet a chance to rest and breathe. They'll appreciate the fresh air and direct sunlight. In a camp situation, wearing flip flops or sandals will allow your feet to recuperate better and, if you're resting, elevating your feet will also help to reduce swelling.

Foot Care Kits For Hiking

Carrying a small foot care kit in a Ziploc bag is not going to take up much room and will give you much relief from the problems associated with walking. Things like blister patches, a safety pin to drain blisters, a choice of powder or lubricant etc. can often help relieve foot problems before they get out of control and makes for excellent foot care that can feel blissful.

 

Taken from an article walkingandhiking.com