Cracked Heels and What to Watch
Your heels take quite a beating throughout the day, and with the weather changing all the time, they can crack, peel, and cause bleeding. When this happens, you need to treat it right away, or as a person with diabetes, you need to go to a podiatrist. Untreated cracks will cause bacteria and infections, which is what you need to avoid.
Signs that accompany a cracked heel
- Flaky skin—you will see flaky skin around the heel, and perhaps on the top of your foot, or the underside.
- Itching—can occur everywhere, still, do not scratch the cracks as you can cause bleeding.
- Bleeding—the cracks can bleed, and as the splitting gets worse, your heels will begin bleeding. If you find the bleeding is more profuse, you will need to seek help immediately.
- Inflammation and redness-when you see that you have cracked heels, redness and inflammation usually follow. In some cases, you will find that swelling follows.
- Ulceration—this one can be the most dangerous depending on your health, and if you have diabetes, you need to be extremely careful as your feet can become damaged in ways that a healthy person’s feet cannot.
- Loss of feeling—if you are experienced cracked heels; you may experience a loss of feeling in the heel that can spread to the rest of your foot. That is a dangerous side effect that should be taken seriously.
- Infections are another danger for diabetics. Infections can affect the healthiest of feet and lead to more severe issues. Be sure to be careful in this area so that you can avoid complications.
The foot experts at Desert Podiatric Medical Specialists in the Tucson, Oro Valley, and Green Valley areas of Pima County, Arizona, have unparalleled experience treating all aspects of foot and ankle care. Our team of doctors: Christopher M. Funk, D.P.M., FACFAS, Bradley A. Whitaker, D.P.M., FACFAS, Peter C. Merrill, D.P.M., AACFAS, and Zeno Pfau, D.P.M., is dedicated to serving you with state-of-the-art, cutting edge medical technologies, including the PinPointe FootLaser, custom-fitted orthotics, and Radial Pulse Therapy (RPT) for chronic foot, heel, or ankle pain. If you have any questions or want to make an appointment, please call (520) 575-0800.
