Cracked skin around the heels is unsightly and can be excruciatingly uncomfortable. Heel fissures are the term used in medicine for this. The pressure on the thick, dry skin causes these fissures to appear along the heel’s border. These can appear really bad if you’re wearing open-heeled shoes. The logic behind these is that when we put weight on the heel, the typical fat pad under the heel extends outward. That is typical. Normally, the skin is elastic and pliable and takes the expansion in stride. The skin is more likely to crack if it is dry. The cracks may be quite large if the skin is dry, thicker with a callus, and cracked. Large cracks in calloused skin can tug on healthy skin underneath and cause considerable discomfort. Along with the pain, the crack or splints in the healthy skin beneath the hard skin may serve as an entry point for an infection. If you have a medical condition like diabetes that predisposes you to infection, this could be potentially serious for you. A hereditary propensity for the skin to expand in reaction to pressure, being overweight, wearing shoes without a closed-in heel, being unable to reach the feet for self-care, thickening skin around the heel, and dry skin are the key risk factors that might result in cracked heels. These risk factors together predispose individuals to the issue. Actually, there are other causes contributing to the issue.
Dealing with any infection that may be present is the first step in treating cracked heels. This will entail cleaning the diseased area and applying a wound dressing. Antibiotics should be administered if the infection is more serious or exhibiting symptoms of infection. Removal of the thicker callused skin that is prone to cracking is probably the most crucial part of the treatment. A podiatrist can debride this, which is recommended, at least when doing it for the first time. With a little effort, you could do this by yourself with a foot file. After the callused skin has been removed, it might be necessary to tape the borders of any fissures to protect them from spreading while they heal. The fat pad under the heel must remain in place and must not protrude sideways into the skin by wearing closed-in shoes. Applying an emollient cream to the dry skin that is so prone to cracking once this is done is crucial. Every day, this needs to be completed. The creams with urea as an ingredient work great for this. Using a pumice stone or foot file to keep the thick skin down is essential as it begins to regrow. Alternatively, you could achieve this by routinely visiting a podiatrist.