What Causes Heels to Crack & Three Basic Remedies for Them?

It is very common to notice cracks in your heels. As a matter of fact, one in every five adults in the United States notice cracked skin on their feet. Cracked heels can also occur in children, too, and women tend to get this condition more frequently than men.

What Makes My Heels Crack?

Cracked heels can be caused by many different things, but the major one that causes them more often than not is a lack of moisture that your feet receive. The skin under your feet often gets chapped, rough, and dry, and this has to do with the skin by your heels having a low number of sweat glands. When your feet are dry, it would be easier for your heels to develop cracks on the skin because of the lack of flexibility.

Other common causes of cracked heels include aging skin, a lack of vitamins, too much water, a lack of hygiene, prolonged periods of time standing or walking, obesity, abnormal foot conditions such as athlete’s foot, wearing open-back sandals or crocs, wearing shoes that are too small compared to your feet size.

Even though a case of cracked heels because of the skin’s splitting rarely do they bleed. Heel pain Houston can also accompany cracks in your heels, but they are not a really serious injury and can be treated on your own in most cases. If you have a clear idea of what causes your heels to form cracks, then you should take the necessary steps to prevent cracked heels in the future and thus stopping any heel pain from developing.

If you are suffering from heel pain Houston because of cracked heels and want to deal with the issue quickly the next time that the condition occurs, there are many home remedies that you can try.

Three Ways to Easily Treat Cracked Heels

The first remedy involves the soaking and exfoliation of your feet. This method is meant to give your heels adequate moisture so they don’t crack due to dryness. Submerge your feet in warm and soapy water for at most 20 minutes, and use a loofah or pumice stone to scrape off any dead skin on your feet. Following the soaking of your feet, use petroleum jelly to keep the moisture from leaving your feet.

The second remedy is a Balm that can also make your heels moist as well as exfoliate any dead skin. There are heel balms and even multi-purpose balms that you can buy at your local pharmacy or online. Look for ingredients on the packaging such as salicylic acid, alpha-hydroxy acid, and urea. These can be less-demanding to prepare and perform better over soaking your feet in soapy water.

If you want to try something that you might already own, there are many natural products that contain anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties necessary to successfully treat a foot suffering from a cracked heel. These include honey, coconut oil, vinegar, olive oil, vegetable oil, oatmeal, shea butter and crushed bananas.

The last method is the liquid bandage, which can not only provide moisture to a cracked heel, but also prevent cracks from getting worse and to prevent any infections. This product comes in a spray form and will dissolve into the skin over time, so there is no need to worry about keeping it on or pulling it off like an ordinary bandage. Like skin balms and ointments, you can also buy liquid bandages at a pharmacy near you.