Cracked Heels
May 1, 2011 by Foot Health
Filed under Foot Problems
Cracked heels are painful and unsightly. The cracked heels develop when the dry and hard skin around the edges of the heel split, usually on weight bearing and the fat under the heel expanding out sideways. The main predisposing factors from cracked heels are being overweight, wearing shoes that have open backs in them, being on the feet a lot, having dry callused skin around the heel. Once the dry skin has split, it pulls on the normal skin below and it may bleed. The best way to prevent cracked heels or heel fissures is to keep the dry skin away by regularly visits to the podiatrist and the use of emollients. The use of closed in shoes will also keep the fat pad under the heel and not expand out sideways. If the cracked heel has already developed, then the dry hard skin needs to be removed and tape used to hold the edges of the skin together.