Video
Body Check: Feet
In this video Dr Christian talks about the importance of checking your feet. As feet are always hidden away in shoes, it’s easy to forget just how important they are. To check your feet follow Dr Christian’s simple step by step guide.
Check the skin for any changes and look out for anything that resembles athlete’s foot, corns, or verrucas. Also check for ingrown nails as they may need to be removed.
Remember to keep track of any pain, numbness, tingling, swelling or changes in shape, as these could be signs of other underlying conditions.
Add shoes to your checklist as bunions, crushed toes or even ankle problems can all be caused by inappropriate shoes. To avoid smelly feet, change your shoes regularly and keep your feet well ventilated.
We want to hear about your findings, so please click the link below and add your results to our national survey.
+++UPDATE+++
From the 15th – 21st April 2009 we conducted a health survey to find out what were the most common problems that afflicted the nation’s feet.
Over 83% of our respondents were female and the vast majority of these were women under 30 years of age. Shockingly, 25% of people who shared their results with us reported suffering from bunions or hammertoes – conditions which can be genetic but are more often caused by ill-fitting footwear and high heals. Both these conditions require some hefty surgery to put right, so give your feet a night off once in a while, and wear flat footwear whenever possible.
20% of people reported suffering from smelly feet – which is normally nothing to worry about but can be combated by ensuring that you change your shoes and socks regularly.
Flat feet affected around 14% of users, with 7.1% reporting swollen feet. Flat feet are common from birth but if they develop suddenly then you should go to your GP as there may be an underlying problem. Swollen feet can be a sign of lymphatic problems but can also be indicative of problems elsewhere in the body – including the heart, so if they persist, get them checked out by your GP.
Tingling feet affected nearly 1 in 6 people, and if this persists then you should definitely get them checked out as it can be a sign of arthritis, or diabetes.
Other results from the survey revealed that:
10.7% of people suffered with corns
6.8% are suffering with athlete’s foot
11.8% are suffering with verrucas
8.5% have infected nails
11.3% suffer from bunions
14.3% have developed hammer toes
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NoComments and Questions
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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
hi i have some pain in my toes i do have web toes and that is sometimes where i get the pain please help i have had this since i was born
Hi am a woman of 38 and has have the same problem for the lats 2 years. My feet seem to smells and sweats quite a lot, not matter what i do the smell thats not got away... it is getting to me as it's very embarassing and extremelly unconfortable. I have tried everything and anything u name it, I even when to c my GP but all he did was laugh and tall me to get some SURE deodeorant,didn't say anything as i pretent it was juts recently........Dont knw what else to do.... i guess am juts wating for a miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This problem has actually stope me from going out with friends or do normal things in live.........
Hi Im a 22year old woman and think i have the worst feet in the world. I have dark circles on most of my toes. Id love to wear sandals during summer but cant bare to have them displayed. is there anything i can do to get rid of the circles?
hey im 13 and im a girl but i have hairy feet on my toes and on the top of my foot there is a big patch of it in the shape of a square this gets me down i will not wear open shoes or walk round bare footed! what could i do?
Shave.
I Always Have Cold Feet, And My Toes Have Gone Purple/reddish And swollen Always Painful! no matter what shoes i wear,
I am 16, for over a year now my feet have been really wierd colours. If their cold they go reaaly blue or purple and look horrible. They are ALWAYSSS roaring red even my toes go redder and sometimes my toes are sore and swollen. My hands are often red and blue as well but not as severe. I also get pains in my feet up to my ankles and are often sore to walk on. I said it too the doctor last time i was there and he said not to worry about it that it would pass and to come back when im over 18, but i really think there is something wrong and am getting very worried i hate taking my socks off whenever anyones there coz im afraid they'll say something. Please please help me :(
i have a problem with my toe nails a few have broken off but grown back again and my big toe nails a starting to curve. also one of my toe nails has got a white patch in the middle and a dark patch cross the bottom almost covering half the toe nail. do you know what might be wrong?
The thing that I find most interesting and astonishing is how many people are told by their GPs that there is nothing that can be done for their condition. Lazy GPs with no interest in getting help for their patients seem to be our biggest problem - not bunions or bad knees or verrucas. Is it not clear that GP will have more time and fewer visits from patients if they are helped/treated/cured? Don't wait for GP to offer - tell him to send you to consultant, it is your right to be helped if help is available
hi i have this problem with my feet they are generaly always cold and they are flat. I am training to be a dancer and i have to be carefull with what movements i do because they will cramp my toes when i try to point them which is very hard to do any way and they always do this is it because i have flat feet thank you
i have fungal nail infection which i ,ve had for 15 years gp won,t treat it on nhs says i need to go private. got to stage where i can,t wear flip flops on holiday very conscious of it.any suggestions really getting me down
