Our top tips for party feet

It was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse…

But we all know what reality is like. Christmas is when things heat up, to fit in catching up with friends and family, end of year demands and did I mention shopping.

It's a busy time of year and you don't want your feet to let you down. Here are my top tips for protecting your feet from harm this Christmas.

Prepare ahead

Put a bit of thought into your day and match your shoes—and heels—to the amount of walking you'll be doing. My general rule is "the more walking you do, the lower your heel height and more comfortable your shoe should be". 

Pack flats

If you're wearing high heels, keep a pair of flats on hand. Throw a pair in your car or your hand bag. There are some great styles that fold up to next to nothing. With so many last minute things to do, you never know what the day will bring, but at least you know you'll be floating through the day.

Gel inserts

Who said diamonds are a girl's best friend? Your new best friends are gel inserts! There's nothing like having their cushiony goodness to protect your toes and heels from rubbing. Capital Podiatry stocks a wide range of these products and you can also buy them from your local chemist.

Well-fitting shoes

Say good bye to the practice of buying a pair of shoes that almost fit! Buy shoes that fit you now, not shoes that you plan to stretch and wear in. Once you've lived through the pan of a badly-fitting pair of shoes, you understand!

Making a difference—feet first

A spark of imagination has led to a well-thought out plan involving shoes, energy, health and even a way to help the environment.

For five enterprising year seven OranaSteiner School students, being part of the two-day Teen Start-Up Camp has already led to great things.

Dana, Emellia, Ruby, Viktoria and Lucy won third prize for their idea, were featured in a story in The Chronicle and are now looking at ways to progress their idea to reality.

The students developed their ideas at the Teen Start-Up Camp.

Their concept is a way of making shoes generate energy to power small appliances.

And one of the reasons the concept did so well was because it uses existing technology—floor tiles which harvest energy.

The idea of using ‘kinetic’ energy flashed into their minds after the first day’s introduction.

‘After all it’s the energy that you get when you’re walking and moving. Its being generated everywhere,’ they said.

The group thought through and dismissed a raft of ideas before they decided on their prize-winning concept because it was the most efficient.

Their ideas included wearing nailpolish to generate energy typing, wearing a watch to create heat and wearing clothes that would create energy from friction.

They also thought about coating car tyres in the energy-harvesting tiles, but dismissed this because it wouldn’t encourage people to walk.

The students said the Teen Start-Up Camp taught them a lot about thinking quickly, thinking under pressure and working in a group.

And next on the agenda is finding ways to advertise and progress their idea.

‘We think there could be a bunch of people working in energy who could work out ways to improve the project and make it a reality,’ they said.

And the environment is also set to benefit from this idea.

The students said that it would stop people wasting energy, once they knew how much effort went into charging things we take for granted.

Fungal nails : dry feet

"Oh no it's spring, that means I'm going to have to show my feet." I've heard this a few times over the past week, have you? Here in Canberra our feet are hidden for months at a time and can need a big makeover when it's time for the big reveal.

Dealing with dry skin and jagged nails is a pain, but it's a much bigger story if you're hiding fungal nails.

Here are some tips to help you avoid getting a fungal nail infection in the first place.

Keep your feet dry

How to avoid fungal nails

Wear shoes in public showers and in pool areas where fungal spores are common. Dry your feet well after your shower and dry well between your toes. Fungus loves to grow in moist, hot areas. Wash your feet each day with soap and water. If your feet sweat, dust them with talcum powder. Wear light and breathable shoes, made from leather, cotton or bamboo. If your feet perspire readily, change your shoes and socks often, often to make sure your feet are always dry.

If you do get a fungal infection

Avoid sharing your shoes with anyone and get treatment as soon as possible. You don't want to infect the other members of your household. One way to avoid passing this to your family members is to wear shower shoes such as thongs or Crocs when you take a shower.

Pedicure tips

If you decide to have a pedicure, schedule it for first thing in the morning, because the foot bath is cleaner in the morning. If you have to go later in the day, make sure they filter and clean the foot bath between clients. Bring your own pedicure utensils to the salon as bacteria and fungus can move easily from one person to the next if the salon doesn't properly sterilise their instruments. Ask to see the autoclave that the salon uses to properly sterilise their instruments.

There are also some tips to follow if the salon is removing a thick build-up of skin on your feet. They should soak your feet in warm water for at least five minutes, then use the stone or scrub to gently smooth calluses and other rough patches. Never allow technicians to use a foot razor to remove the dead skin as it can result in permanent damage if used incorrectly and can lead to infection if too much skin is removed. Don't shave your legs before a pedicure because bacteria can enter through small cuts on your legs.

If you are receiving a pedicure and manicure, the technician must not use the same tools on your feet and hands. Bacteria and fungus can transfer between fingers and toes.

If you suspect that you have a fungal infection in your nails, don't cover them up with nail polish.

Do I have fungal nails?

Your podiatrist will be able to confirm if you have a fungal infection and start laser therapy. We have a quicker success rate if we start treatment as soon as you see the first signs of fungal nails.

Signs include:

• thick or distorted nails
• brown, white or yellow spots or streaks
• brittle or ragged nails
• chalky, dull or powdery nails, and
• nails crumbling at the outside edges. 

Pinterest

We're big Pinterest fans here at Capital Podiatry.

Sure it's a great way to keep up with new ideas around heel pain and stretches, but it's also a fantastic way to showcase memes about Capital Podiatry (there's 40!), collect healthy recipes and find some gorgeous shoe ideas.

Head on over to our boards!

We have a winner!

 We have a winner for our fantastic competition—Renee Heyne.

For our September competition, we joined up with The Athletes Foot.

Renee has won two things.

Firstly, she’ll come to Capital Podiatry for our athletic assessment—with the focus on easing pain and boosting performance.

And then we’ll go with Renee to introduce her to the staff at The Athletes Foot in Tuggeranong.

We’ll use the insights from our assessment to help them fit Renee for a free pair of shoes.

Congratulations Renee! We’re looking forward to helping you with your fitness goals.

We couldn't resist it today when we came across a website that turns you into a Peanuts character.

Nick - podiatrist

We got busy and came up with some great pictures of the six of us. What do you think?!

Mark - podiatrist

Clare - sports massage therapist

Diane - practice manager

Katja - podiatrist

Liz - marketing manager

Five reasons to leave your shoes at the door

1. Go barefoot

It's good for your feet to mix things up - wear shoes outside, but go barefoot at home. One thing that causes sore feet is wearing shoes with hard, unforgiving soles for hours each day. These shoes can help wear away the fatty pad that cushions and protects your heel bone. When this fatty pad wears away, your heel may feel bruised, or have a constant dull ache.

2. Cut out the bacteria

Think about where your feet have been all day - you may have walked across public bathroom floors, on footpaths dodging dog walkers and through shopping centres. Your feet will have collected a jungle of bacteria! Keep it all contained at the door.

3. Air quality

Along with the bacteria, you can well be tracking in toxins to your house. These can include those powerful cleaning chemicals that they use in public bathrooms, pesticides, fertilisers and fungal spores.

4. Looking after your floors

Tracking mud, dirt and debris into your house means that you have to clean more often. It means that you have to vacuum harder on your carpeted areas and scrub harder on your tiled and wooden floors. You have to work harder at keeping your house clean and that extra scrubbing and elbow grease can actually damage your floors over time.

5. Avoiding scratches

High heels might look great, but they can make indents and scratches on your floors. Wearing shoes with points and heels can end up knocking dings into your floors - especially those bare, minimalist wooden floors.