A lot of the advice from podiatrists is to, well, attend a podiatrist. This might seem a bit self-serving, but it's unavoidable - by the time you come to ask a question about a foot problem, usually it's at the stage where someone needs to take a look at it and take action.
Most of us take our feet for granted: wear the same pair of shoes for a bit too long, forget to throw out those socks with holes in them, leave problems with them a little too long. So when my friends ask me for footcare advice, a lot of the time the answer is “go see someone local to you and get them to sort it”.
Times are changing
As you might have noticed, a lot of things that we previously took for granted have changed. Easy access to health services is one of them. If something goes wrong with your foot, how easy is it going to be to get to a podiatrist, a radiologist, a doctor, in the next week? How comfortable are you with using up resources at the moment that could perhaps go elsewhere, with sitting in a waiting room with a sore foot hoping that your incidental cough hasn't just given something nasty to the person next to you?
We all have a responsibility at the moment to stay at home, and to some extent that involves a responsibility to take care of ourselves. To make sure to mind yourself, so that you also do no harm to others.
Don’t just leave it until things reopen
This is not to spread fear. Fear is, after all, often the parent of neglect. We fear pain, or disability, or that the problem is something more serious, and we leave it alone, engage in denial. “Leave me alone will you, I'm fine”. The answer isn't fear, it's caution.
Any podiatrist can tell you that many of the problems we see could have been easily, cheaply, simply fixed or prevented, and that delay usually causes a much more painful and expensive problem. Prevention and early treatment are the answer, and a lot of money and health can be saved with a little common sense or a couple of precautions.
Watch your step
The first of these, as always, is just attention. Pay attention to your feet. Know what they normally look and feel like. Check in on any pain, any changes in colour, any changes in the toenail. Toenails are surprisingly affected by other aspects of your health. Fungal toenails are common, but relatively harmless. Ingrown toenails are painful, but preventable.
Keeping your nails tidy
When you cut your nails, cut them straight across, as when rounding the edges it's reasonably common to leave a small spike of nail behind. You can round the edges by filing the whole nail. Always file your nails after you cut them, and don't pull loose bits off. File them downwards, so that if you use too much force you won't lift the nail.
Use a good sharp toenail clippers or small scissors, not the kind that come in Christmas crackers and not kitchen scissors. With everything you do this week, ask yourself, “if this went wrong, could I get hurt?”
Maintaining healthy skin
Wash your feet regularly, check on bruises to make sure they go away (bruises under the nail may linger for a long time but should not spread), dry carefully between your toes. Apply moisturiser to hard skin, though never use it between your toes. Use a mirror to check for any changes: you can put the mirror on the floor and simply sit with your feet elevated above it in good light, or angle it against a wall.
What to keep an eye out for?
The signs of infection have been the same since the Ancient Greeks recognised them- redness, pain, swelling, bad smell, finding it difficult to move the affected part. Milder infections are usually treatable by the same means by which one prevents them, maybe also with a mild antiseptic cream or an antiseptic dressing like an iodine dressing. Always check the packaging for instructions on use. More serious infections may need medical attention.
How to prevent an infection
The good news is that most infections are preventable by changing your socks and shoes regularly, avoiding walking outside barefoot, washing out wounds well with water, and keeping a sterile dressing or plaster over the wound all the time. Wear gloves when you wash and dress a wound, or wash your hands well before and after doing so. "There's poison on your fingers", as my mother used to tell me. Still rings true, perhaps even more so recently.
Keeping an eye on those close to you
But also pay attention to each other, too. Lots of people come to the clinic with something that someone else noticed - a sister mentions a 'funny' toenail, a friend alerts you to a limp. Keep an eye out for your loved ones. Check your children's shoes fit.
If you know someone in your household is older and has mobility issues, or sight issues, maybe they attend a podiatrist regularly. Maybe they can't, or shouldn't, go to them now. Could someone in the household put cream on their feet regularly (wear gloves), or file their toenails once a week until they can get out again?
If no-one is checking their feet, those trying to self-isolate may stave off coronavirus but potentially at the risk of infection or ulceration.
If we look out for each other, if we do the best we can for each other, we will all get through this together, though apart.