How to cure cracked heels at home. Cracked heels - causes and treatment at home

Cracked heels are a common condition that many people suffer from and are caused by a lack of moisture in our skin. Although dry skin on the feet can hardly be called serious medical problem, however, it can cause a number of inconveniences, especially in the summer, when you want to wear open sandals or slippers. It also happens that an infection gets into the cracks in the heels, because of which the feet hurt a lot and the person cannot walk normally. If these problems are familiar to you, I suggest using folk remedies to help cure dry, cracked heels at home!

And we will begin the process of treatment with the adoption water procedures- soak the legs in the bath:

Foot bath with honey

Honey is a natural moisturizer, contains antibacterial substances that fight any infection (read more).
Add a glass of honey to a bowl of warm water and mix well, soak your feet in this solution for about 20 minutes - honey will soothe chapped skin and nourish it with moisture. You can repeat this procedure every day.

Epsom salt foot bath

Epsom salt (epsom salt) soothes tired feet, softens the skin, eliminates bad smell promotes healing of cracks. Add half a glass of salt to a bowl of warm water, stir until dissolved, steam your feet for 20 minutes

Do not wash your feet with soap immediately after the procedure, as this may interfere with the effect of salt. Do these baths no more than two or three times a week, because excessive exposure to salt will dry out the skin of the feet and only exacerbate heel problems.

Foot bath with apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar softens dead skin, making it easier to remove. Dilute half a glass of vinegar in a bowl of warm water, dip your feet there and sit for about 15 minutes, during which time the acetic acid will soften hard skin and prepare your heels for pumice treatment. You can repeat this procedure every day.

Now that your feet have soured in any of the above baths, gently rub your feet with a pumice stone (this can be used no more than once every 5 days), pat your feet dry with a towel, and apply one of the following to your heels and feet:

Coconut oil

Coconut oil provides deep hydration to the skin, thanks to which your heels will quickly heal and become smooth and soft again! Rub into dry skin of the feet, put on a pair of socks and go to bed

Banana and coconut oil

Bananas contain enzymes that stimulate the growth of new healthy skin cells, so by adding this fruit to the oil, we will strengthen healing effect and get rid of dry, cracked heels faster! Simply mash one banana with two tablespoons of coconut oil, massage this mixture into clean, dry feet, and rinse with warm water after 20 minutes.

Shea butter (shea) and lemon juice

Shea butter is an excellent moisturizer that effectively heals cracked heels, while the acid in lemon juice is very good at softening the rough skin that causes cracks. Rub shea butter mixed with a little fresh lemon juice into dry heels. Put on a pair of socks and go to bed.

Paraffin

Paraffin works as a natural emollient plus it helps retain moisture in the skin. Take equal parts paraffin and coconut oil and heat them until they melt (if the oil is liquid, then you do not need to heat it), rub the mixture into cracked heels and put on socks. This method also works best if left overnight and washed off in the morning.

Oatmeal and jojoba oil

Oatmeal helps to exfoliate keratinized skin, softens, nourishes it, makes it smooth, soft and velvety, and jojoba oil heals cracks, stimulates skin regeneration, and has anti-inflammatory properties (more details about this oil are written).
Make a thick paste with 1 tbsp. l. ground in a blender oatmeal and a small amount of jojoba oil, rub the mixture on your feet and leave for half an hour.

Do not forget that only regular procedures bring results! Choose any remedy you like best and use it at least every day!

Foot scrub with lemon and salt

Mix 4 tbsp. l. sea ​​salt (or regular) with the juice of one, add 3 tbsp. l. sweet almond oil and natural, homemade scrub is ready! disinfects, gets rid of dead epidermis, lemon juice contains an acid that will help exfoliate the skin, and sweet almond oil will restore smoothness and softness to the feet.

In this video, watch the recipe for ointment for cracked heels.

Please note that cracked heels are not always a purely cosmetic problem, they can also be symptoms. serious illnesses which ones, you can find out by watching the next video!

Tell us, how did you treat cracked heels? Share good, proven methods in the comments!

I also invite everyone to chat with me on social networks - an account in instagram, community in

Cracked heels are serious problem causing a lot of inconvenience painful when walking, interfering with active living and wearing open shoes.
Treatment of cracked heels should begin after the exclusion of all diseases that can provoke their appearance. In the presence of such pathologies in the body, neither careful foot care nor proper local treatment will help.
If there are no such deviations, and there are cracks on the heels, then it is necessary to find the cause that caused them and eliminate it immediately.

It is necessary to start the fight against cracks with a change of shoes, nutrition, daily routine. Perhaps these measures will help, and the cracks will disappear. Otherwise, they should be treated by professionals in a beauty salon or on their own at home.

Foot baths

There are several options for foot baths that are used to restore the skin on the heels.

Contrast baths

They take two basins and fill them with water: one is hot, and the other is cold, and then they step from one to the other, while in cold water hold the legs for ten seconds, and in hot - two minutes. A contrast bath is done for ten minutes.

This healing procedure not only helps with cracked heels, but also relieves fatigue, stimulates blood circulation in the legs and strengthens the walls of blood vessels.

Soda soap baths

To prepare them, you need two liters of hot water, half a teaspoon of mineral soap and a tablespoon of soda. All ingredients are mixed and kept in such a foot bath for ten minutes. In order for the therapeutic effect to come faster, the heels after the bath must be strongly rubbed with a brush with fine rubbing elements. Soda-soap baths do ten days in a row. The course is repeated after about four weeks.

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Starch bath

per liter warm water dilute a tablespoon of starch and lower the legs there for thirty minutes.

To prevent the bath from completely cooling down, you should periodically add hot water. Baths with starch are made until cracks on the heels disappear completely. After each procedure, the skin of the feet is lubricated with a nourishing cream.

Baths with decoctions of herbs

Herbal baths are an effective remedy for cracked heels, promoting their healing and having pronounced antiseptic properties.

Herbs used to prepare baths: chamomile, St. John's wort, oak bark, sage, string, calendula, all together or separately.

First, a decoction is prepared, cooled, and a bath is made in which the legs are kept for ten minutes.

Folk remedies

Treatment of deep cracked heels

Foods for cracked heels

Are you one of those millions of women who struggle with being overweight?

Have all your attempts to lose weight failed?

And have you already thought about drastic measures? It is understandable, because slim figure is an indicator of health and a reason for pride. In addition, this is at least the longevity of a person. And the fact that a person who loses “extra pounds” looks younger is an axiom that does not require proof.

What do perfectly groomed feet look like? Of course, this is a first-class pedicure, satin skin of the feet, pink neat fingers ... We remember the heels last. Although itthemthe condition can significantly narrow down the choice of summer shoes and become an ongoing aesthetic problem.

Cracks in the heels is the result of coarsening and subsequent damage to the skin. You can eliminate them with the help of special procedures that are carried out both in the salon and at home. However, it also happens that painful breaks indicate the presence of serious diseases - endocrine, vascular, dermatological, here the treatment tactics will be completely different.

In this article, the site will talk about how to properly care for the skin of the feet so that the heels are always like a baby, what ways to deal with the problem and what to do if cosmetology does not give the expected result:

What are cracked heels and why do they appear?

In most cases we are talking about shallow damage to the stratum corneum of the skin. They do not cause any discomfort, only the aesthetic side of the issue can excite. But it also happens that the wounds begin to hurt and itch. Gradually deepening, they remind of themselves with pain when walking, standing for a long time, and even just with shoes on. It will no longer be possible to ignore such symptoms, and instead of the usual cosmetic care, you will need to carry out serious treatment.

All the causes leading to cracking of the skin on the heels can be divided into two large groups:

• insufficient or excessive care, the presence of environmental factors leading to overdrying and injury to the skin of the feet;
• various diseases that lead to changes in soft tissues lower limbs.

The first one includes:

• the habit of walking barefoot or wearing shoes without a back;
• insufficient foot care: if you do not remove dead cells in a timely manner using pumice (graters) or peelings, do not moisturize in the same way as we do with hands or face, then the skin quickly becomes rough and loses moisture. Excessive care can lead to the same consequences: the constant use of abrasive products (scrubs and pumice), peelings;
• wearing tight, uncomfortable shoes made of synthetic materials, excessive sweating feet, lack of habit or ability to change shoes if the shoes are damp or wet;
• exposure to chlorinated water, as well as components of washing powder, conditioners and other products household chemicals, which are used during the washing of tights or socks, shoe care;
• harmful working conditions heat, contact with toxic substances);
• smoking and other bad habits;
• unreasonable diets for weight loss, poor diet, insufficient fluid.

Each of the above reasons, individually, is not capable of causing the appearance of deep painful cracking. As a rule, there is an impact of several factors at once, and all the changes they cause are completely reversible - often it is enough to remove particles of keratinized skin, and our heels again acquire an aesthetic appearance.

If a home care does not solve the problem, visits to the pedicure master give only a temporary improvement, and the cracks begin to hurt when walking and pressing, then you should think about possible availability more serious pathologies. To them, that is, to the second group of reasons can be attributed:

• fungal infection;
• dermatological diseases such as psoriasis, ichthyosis;
• excess weight and, accordingly, an increase in the load on the feet when walking;
• diabetes mellitus in the stage of sub- and decompensation;
• helminthiases (presence of worms);
• diseases gastrointestinal tract;
• hormonal imbalance caused by diseases of the thyroid and other endocrine glands, pregnancy, menopause.

In this case for accurate diagnosis concomitant disease and its further elimination will require a full-time examination of the doctor and analysis.

How to get rid of cracks and put your heels in order?

Solutions to the problem will dependfrom the situationand the personal approach of a dermatologist. The main activities that will help with the aesthetic side of the issue are as follows:

• Treating Deep, Painful Fissures

Such skin lesions in most cases do not heal on their own. On the contrary, gradually they become deeper, and the discomfort becomes more and more noticeable. The best treatment in this case would be medical glue. It securely holds the edges of the crack and prevents it from deepening. The best fit is a special glue FB-6, which is usually sold in pharmacies. If FB-6 is not available, you can use any other, as long as it contains cyanoacrylate. The application algorithm is simple:

• remove all impurities from the skin of the heels, rinse them thoroughly in the area of ​​cracks;
• dry the skin with a towel and wait until the moisture that the fabric has not absorbed has evaporated;
• apply glue to the problem area and let it dry (usually just a few minutes is enough).

Such a procedure will not bring any harm to the body, but the benefits will be obvious: the crack will heal within 1-2 weeks, after which you can slowly grind off the glue with a file.

• elimination external causes that cause skin cracking

This list goes on. Our main task is to select best ways care for feet and objects in contact with the skin that will not provoke overdrying and cracking.

• Establishment proper care behind the feet

It is important not to overdo it here. For example, you should not abuse peelings - hot water, pumice and good cream or ointments with urea in the composition. If there are significant layers of keratinized cells, then after steaming, pumice stone treatment and applying cream, wrap the feet with a plastic bag and put on socks. Gradually, as the condition of the skin improves, it will be possible to abandon cellophane and leave only cream and socks.

Heel skin before and after complex treatment deep and small cracks:

What to do if the cracks do not go away?

If you have eliminated all the factors that can provoke excessive keratinization and damage to the skin of the heels, and regular care does not help solve the problem, there is a high probability of presence in the body chronic pathologies, to search for which you need to visit a doctor (you can start with a dermatologist) and be examined.

First of all, a scraping is usually taken for the presence of mycosis. This is a simple test that allows you to identify the fungus on the feet. By itself, it does not cause cracking, but it can enhance the effect of other adverse factors. If the result is negative, it will be necessary to continue the search in close cooperation with the therapist, dermatologist and endocrinologist.

• Causes of cracked heels
• Treating cracked heels at home
• Prevention of cracks

One of the solutions to the situation when pain when walking and cracked heels appeared is home treatment. This is an opportunity not only to regain a confident gait, but also to get rid of the stress with which the body reacts to any pain. It is impossible to unequivocally name the cause of skin cracking. Factors can be both external and internal. Cracks in the heels are just an indicator of trouble in the body.

Causes of cracked heels

Dryness or severe keratinization are the main causes of the problem. Overdried skin can be compared to a tympanic one: to some extent, it holds a blow, but bursts with excessive exposure. Strong keratinization also leads to a decrease in elasticity: the thicker the layer, the worse it stretches. It is not easy to talk about the reasons, because there are many of them. Behind every situation can be both negligence and hereditary disease that needs to be treated for a long time. But all of them can be combined into several large groups, manifesting itself as dryness and / or keratinization of the skin of the heels:

1. Insufficient foot care. Heels love regular care, nourishing and moisturizing creams, baths. They like it when the body is sufficiently hydrated. With a regularity of about a month, the cells are updated. If peeling is not carried out, the heels will gradually become overgrown with keratinized cells, the thickened layer will lose elasticity and, at the first opportunity, may crack.
2. Inappropriate clothing and footwear. Synthetic tights, artificial shoe materials, glue can lead to allergic dermatitis, inflammation and cracks. Slippers have a detrimental effect on the condition of the skin, especially on a thick sole, which increases the inertia of hitting the heel. If you multiply the number of steps by the number of spanks, then an impressive figure comes out. Healthy elastic skin takes down such executions, but for overdried it is hard.
3. Reduced intake of minerals and vitamins in the body contributes significantly to the deterioration skin, especially the restriction of substances on which the condition of the skin depends directly (vitamins A and E, iron). The reason can be not only a depleted diet, but also diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: all the substances that come with food in the intestines are not absorbed, but are carried out with the remains of food.
4. Skin diseases. With dermatitis, this can be physical damage (uncomfortable low-quality shoes), chemical exposure(allergic to detergent, medicine, cream) or biological (plants, viruses). Fungi that cause fungal infections coarsen and thicken the skin of the feet and especially the heels, leading to the appearance of deep painful cracks. And if you do not start dealing with them immediately, then later a bacterial infection will get there.
5. endocrine factors. Hypothyroidism affects general state body, including the skin. And one of side effects diabetes is a diabetic foot. Due to bad blood vessels, the legs suffer and the heels get hit hard. The less blood flows to the skin, the less oxygen and nutrients it receives, the less chance the skin has in this place to be elastic and regenerate well.
6. Obesity additionally loads the skin of the heels. Normally, its elasticity must withstand step loads that increase towards the heel edge. It is here at the moment of the offensive that the most huge pressure. And the extra pounds increase it disproportionately. The body begins to increase the number of cells in order to improve the skin's ability to stretch. And since this happens without increasing the surface of the heel itself, it only leads to a thickening of the stratum corneum. The thicker it is, the easier it breaks. Deep cracks are full of room for dust and fungus.

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Treating cracked heels at home

By applying simple measures, you can regain the ease of walking. In case of serious manifestations, an appeal to the doctor is mandatory, but if there is no such possibility yet, and the problem needs to be solved now, because it is impossible to step on the heels, then the legs will have to be treated on your own. With severe pain without purulent inflammation any of the solid oil ointments bought at the pharmacy will help. If inflammation with suppuration, Vishnevsky ointment is used. Application according to instructions.

When shallow cracks are planned, a greasy moisturizer or ointment will help, which contains vitamins, wax, glycerin, propolis. You can buy an ointment like Radevit in a pharmacy and apply it on your heels in the morning thin layer and thicker in the evening.

Calendula ointment (30 g) mixed with 10 g of an oil solution of vitamin A (retinol) helps well. Use daily at night until symptoms disappear. Wear cotton socks over the top. The skin is not only healed, but also moisturized. Ordinary Vaseline, which is applied to the heels at night, can save the situation, cotton socks are put on top.

With the appearance of cracks on the heels, you can be treated at home with compresses from mashed potatoes. Boil potatoes without salt, mash into puree and dilute with broth until plastic. Spread a handful of mashed potatoes on two cotton cloth napkins, attach them to the heels, wrap with polyethylene on top. After 20 minutes, rinse with warm water, wipe the softened stratum corneum with a pumice stone. Wipe dry and apply any nourishing cream.

Using honey at night with a cabbage leaf wrapping on top and putting on socks heals cracks well, but is only suitable for those who are not allergic to honey. You can also make an oil composition of 10 g of aloe juice, 5 g of eucalyptus oil and 15 g castor oil. Mix the ingredients and apply several times a day.

Conducting, in parallel with compresses and ointments, it is necessary to make foot baths with antiseptic herbs (chamomile, St. water at a comfortable temperature and lower the legs into the decoction for 20 minutes. Then lightly treat the heels with a pumice stone, wipe dry and immediately apply an ointment or compress while the skin pores are still open.

Heel cracks is one of the many problems that can overtake our feet, causing trouble for a long time.

Ideally, healthy, well-groomed heels should have smooth, clean, and soft, pinkish skin. But more often on the heels there are such cosmetic defects as corns, corns, warts and, of course, heel cracks. No one is immune from them, and besides purely physical discomfort, especially in the summer, heel cracks make it difficult to put on open sandals, forcing you to be embarrassed by rough skin on your feet. Heel cracks, appearing, immediately begin to call severe pain when walking in the heel area. At the same time, small, thin notches become noticeable on the sole, which then turn into deep cracked heels.

Heel cracks appear with excessive dryness of the skin, when its elasticity decreases. Appearance cracked heels can also be associated with uneven skin tension - in summer the top layer of the skin is stretched from moisture, and in winter the skin dries out, and cracks appear on it. Heel cracks often seen in people suffering from skin diseases, malfunctions in endocrine system, they can be symptoms of beriberi, diabetes and gastritis. Provocative moment of appearance cracked heels is wearing synthetic socks and uncomfortable shoes.

How to treat deep cracked heels

But if you do cracked heel treatment on time, then after a while nothing will stop you from admiring your own well-groomed feet, as cracked heels- a difficult, but quite solvable problem. The secret is in regular medical procedures and moisturizers to help get rid of cracked heels forever.

fixed assets for cracked heel treatment are preparations based on vaseline. Pure petroleum jelly is also very good at softening cracks and moisturizing the skin. To begin, steam the legs in hot water with a small amount boric acid(1 teaspoon to a glass of water), and then apply a layer of Vaseline on the cracks, after which a patch is applied and left on all night. The procedure is repeated daily until cracked heels won't disappear at all.

There is also such a way cracked heel treatment: warm up beeswax, paraffin and salicylic acid in equal parts, and using a cotton swab, apply the mixture to the heel. Let it dry and, in the same way, apply another 2-3 layers. The dried film is strengthened with bandage. A day later, a soap and soda bath is made, the film is removed and the heel is treated with pumice. Repeat the procedure several times.

At deep cracked heels to prevent infection, cracked heels soften with an ointment containing antibiotics, rubbing it in a circular motion. In general, when treating the skin of the heels, creams containing bee propolis or vitamins A and F are preferred. Without treatment based on heel cracks fungal disease of the feet may begin. To avoid this, you need to use antifungal ointments, regularly lubricating them with cracks.

Also, the skin on the heels can be made soft and smooth if rubbed daily after warm water procedures. cracked heels a little warm olive oil. Good to do from time to time strong massage with a fat cream - warm up a little cream, and massage the heels with kneading movements. This massage will increase blood circulation in the feet and healing. heel cracks. Having done the above procedures, put on cotton socks for the night.

For cracked heel treatment enjoy and herbal remedies. Medicinal plants have a healing and softening effect on the skin, accelerating healing. heel cracks.

For example, from thin notches on the heels, applying a grated apple or onion lotion to them for several days helps. Rub a juicy apple or raw onion on a fine grater, spread the puree on a piece of dense fabric and apply to the heels, fixing it with a bandage. For moisturizing deep cracked heels the same is done with a fresh tomato.

Heal very quickly cracked heels when applying daily lotions or hot compresses from the roots of elecampane. Another effective tool treatment heel cracks a fresh cabbage leaf is considered - apply it to the skin at night, and lubricate it in the morning cracked heels any moisturizer.

Medicinal honey also heals well deep cracked heel- apply a little honey to a piece of cotton cloth and apply it to cracked heels. Can be left honey compress at night, fixing it with a bandage, and in the morning wash the heels with warm water, lubricate with moisturizing baby oil and apply a regular band-aid to keep moisture on the skin.

most difficult and bad moment, when cracked heels become inflamed, swollen, redden, pustules appear around them. In this case, you can not do without medical help and serious antibacterial treatment.