There is a layer of callus on the soles of feet. It is necessary to deal with it as soon as possible.

Author: Tang Qin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Science Popularization Expert Committee of the Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Zhang Jianzhong, Chief Physician, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University

In daily life, many people find that the soles of their feet, especially the forefoot and heels which are under greater pressure, have hard and rough dead skin and calluses that feel like files.

So, how do these hard, rough dead skin and calluses on the soles of the feet form? And how can we treat them?

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

1. What are calluses on the soles of the feet?

The stratum corneum is the skin's self-protective membrane. If the skin is continuously exposed to external stimulation or pressure, it will produce a thicker stratum corneum. The accumulation of this stratum corneum will form calluses, commonly known as calluses. Calluses formed on the soles of the feet are called sole calluses; if accompanied by pain, they are called painful calluses.

In appearance, calluses on the soles of the feet are localized, yellow, thick, and hard patches of keratin hyperplasia with unclear boundaries, thick in the center and thin at the edges. They are more common in adults and often occur in areas of the sole that are prone to pressure and friction, such as under the second and third metatarsal heads and on the heels, and often occur symmetrically.

In the past, it was believed that only the elderly or people who walk a lot are prone to calluses. However, modern research has found that wearing ill-fitting shoes for a long time, having bad walking habits, or not distributing weight evenly to the feet are all likely to cause calluses. For example, men who like to wear hard-soled shoes and women who like to wear pointed high heels are more likely to develop calluses on the forefoot or heel.

When the callus is mild, it will not cause discomfort except affecting the appearance of the feet. But when the callus is severe, it will not only cause pain when walking, but also easily cause cracking, peeling or bleeding in winter, affecting normal walking.

In addition, the increasingly thick calluses on the soles of the feet are likely to cause fungal growth, and due to the protection of the outer layer of the calluses, these fungi cannot be effectively and thoroughly killed, posing a hidden danger of causing tinea pedis and onychomycosis.

Therefore, when there are calluses on the soles of the feet, regardless of whether you feel discomfort or not, you should take it seriously and take certain measures to deal with it as soon as possible to avoid greater impact on your life, and at the same time, you should also do a good job of prevention.

2. Self-treatment of calluses on the soles of feet

Mild pain or calluses on the forefoot and heel, if not severe, can be treated mildly by changing shoes, inserting insoles, soaking feet and foot care.

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1. When choosing shoes, comfort and fit should be the top priority. It is crucial to choose a pair of loose, breathable, soft and well-fitting shoes. If you feel that new shoes are rubbing your feet, you can apply facial cream or white wine to the rubbing area and leave it overnight to soften the upper, or slightly wet the upper and press it hard several times. If you feel that new shoes are pinching your feet, you can wet the shoes with a wet towel and then prop them up with shoe wedges and leave them overnight.

2. Insoles can be used to relieve the pressure on the soles of the feet. If conditions permit, you can go to the hospital for professional flat plate pressure measurement and customize the insoles according to the force on the feet, which has a good auxiliary treatment effect on the pain on the soles of the feet. If conditions permit, you can cut a hole at the point where the callus pain is located on the soles of the feet, corresponding to the parallel position of the insole. In this way, when the foot steps on the insole, the painful part can be suspended in the air to avoid friction and pressure between the foot bones and the soles of the shoes, which can relieve the pain; you can also buy soft and elastic silicone forefoot insoles to reduce the pressure when walking.

3. Soak your feet more often, preferably once a day, which can effectively relieve the pain caused by calluses on the soles of your feet. You can add a small amount of vinegar and salt to the water. The soaking time should not be too long, 15 to 20 minutes is enough, and the water temperature should be maintained at around 40℃.

4. It is recommended to perform foot care once a week, and use ointments containing special ingredients to soften calluses, such as salicylic acid, which can dissolve calluses and automatically peel off. In addition, you can also use nourishing cream to moisturize the soles of your feet, apply it to the soles of your feet regularly before going to bed, and then wear socks to sleep. This will open the pores of the skin under the action of heat, and the oil will be fully absorbed to soften the calluses on the soles of your feet; get up early the next day, rub the calloused parts of the soles of your feet with a special grinding stone, and then wash off the dandruff with warm water. It should be noted that you should grind off a little callus each time, step by step, and don't think about grinding it flat at once, let alone tearing off the skin on the soles of your feet at once. You can also use a commercially available special callus cutter to thin the calluses.

If the calluses on the soles of your feet are severe, you need to go to a regular hospital for professional treatment.

3. Precautions when dealing with calluses on the soles of the feet

When dealing with calluses on the soles of the feet, there are some things you need to pay attention to, otherwise new injuries will occur.

First of all, calluses on the soles of the feet should be treated as early as possible. The newly grown thin calluses can be softened by soaking them in warm water and then gently rubbed off. Do not wait until you feel pain before treating them. Delaying treatment for too long will not only be troublesome to deal with, but will also damage the skin on the soles of the feet.

Secondly, when the calluses on the soles of the feet are thick and cannot be removed by normal means, do not use scissors or blades to cut them, and do not pull the calluses hard. The former will trim the soles of the feet unevenly due to the lack of control over the thickness of the calluses on the soles of the feet, thus forming new calluses; the latter will increase the pain due to the injury to the fresh skin on the soles of the feet, and may cause infection.

Again, correctly distinguish between calluses and corns on the soles of the feet. Although they are both caused by excessive proliferation of the stratum corneum, they are not the same, so the treatment methods are also different and should not be confused. Corns usually occur on the non-weight-bearing parts of the soles of the feet, such as the tip or side of the toes, and some also occur between the toes. They have a smooth surface and a transparent ring-shaped substance in the middle, just like a chicken's eye.

Finally, if the patient suffers from diabetic foot, he or she needs to ask a professional doctor to treat the calluses on the soles of the feet. Do not cut them by yourself, otherwise it is easy to injure the feet, leading to ulcers, infections, and even amputation in severe cases.

As a disease that is prone to recurrence, you should pay attention to relevant preventive measures after treating calluses on the soles of the feet. It is best to wear comfortable and well-fitting shoes, and try to avoid walking for too long. At the same time, keep your feet dry and clean.

In short, the sooner calluses on the soles of the feet are treated, the less impact they will have on your life. Especially calluses that are thick, hard, and rough to the touch must be treated as soon as possible.