When you’re not feeling quite right, what is the first thing to check? Blood pressure, heart rate and respiration? Well those are all very useful pieces of information – vital actually, but what many overlook is checking the feet! I know, we’re obsessed with feet here, but for good reason! Evaluating foot conditions can aid in the detection of diabetes, nutritional deficiencies and nerve, vascular, bone or joint issues.
Check out these 18 warning signs and what they could mean for your overall health. If you have any of these signs you should see your doctor or podiatrist today!
1. Nails with slight rounded indentations on the surface. Usually a sign of anemia (AKA iron deficiency).
2. Hairless feet and toes. A sign of poor circulation usually caused by vascular disease.
3. Frequent foot cramps. May mean a lack of calcium, potassium, or magnesium in your diet.
4. A foot sore that won’t heal. This is a major clue to diabetes and something that needs to be checked ASAP.
5. Cold feet. Could indicate a thyroid issue or poor circulation.
6. Thick, yellow or “ugly” toenails. This is the sign of a fungal infection. By the time it makes the nails “ugly” it is advanced and needs to be treated. Fungus IS contagious.
7. A suddenly inflammed, red and warm great toe. This is a sign of gout, a form of arthritis.
8. Numbness or tingling in your feet. This is a sign of damage to the peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy) which is usually caused by diabetes or alcohol abuse.
9. Sore toe joints. Could be an early sign of rheumatoid arthritis, usually the pain of this degenerative joint disease is first felt in the toe and finger joints.
10. Toenails with tiny holes. Psoriasis – a skin disease – can show up in the nails as many small holes.
11. Inability to flex foot upward. Called “drop foot,” this condition is the sign of muscle or nerve damage somewhere in the body.
12. Dry, flaky skin. Athlete’s Foot, a fungal infection, usually starts as dry, flaky, itchy skin before progressing into blisters and inflammation. Again, fungus IS contagious.
13. Patriotic toes. If your feet change color from white to blue to red and back to a natural color in the winter or when they’re cold you may have Raynaud’s Syndrome. The color changing is caused by blood vessel vasospasms (over compensating) due to temperature.
14. Painful feet! Could be a stress fracture and a sign of a underlying issue such as osteopenia, poor vitamin D or calcium absorption, or malnutrition. It is not uncommon for patients to walk on broken bones, but it is painful!
15. Swollen tips of toes or fingers. Called “digital clubbing,” this is a common sign of a serious lung disease as well as a sign of heart or gastrointestinal disease. See your doctor right away if you think you have this symptom.
16. Shooting pain in heel. This usually means plantar fasciitis, which is inflammation of the fascia (connective tissue) that runs along the bottom of the foot.
17. Stinky feet. Though smelly feet generally doesn’t mean much it could be another sign of a fungal or unseen infection or ulcer. Bacteria feasting on your sweat and dead skin cells is what causes the smell. Your best bet: keep your feet clean and DRY!
18. Old or improper shoes. Though not a warning sign, it is the root cause of many foot issues from deformities to strains and other foot pains. Old shoes lack support. Running shoes should be replaced about every 350 to 500 miles. Diabetic patients should be especially attentive to their shoes, not to mention the feet inside of them!
You are the best judge of your overall health, you know when you aren’t feeling quite ‘right,’ and you’re the only one who really knows what you feel. If you have any of these signs you’re best bet is to be checked out by a doctor.
Remember, your feet shouldn’t hurt!…or change colors, or itch, or swell…
Call Shenandoah Podiatry at (540) 808-4343 to schedule an appointment today.
