Preventing Athlete's Foot

Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that can lead to intense itching, blistered or peeling areas of skin, redness, and scaling. It can occur on moist waterlogged skin especially between the fourth and fifth toes or on dry flaky skin around the heels or elsewhere on the foot. Athlete’s foot can be caused from a number of fungal species which are typically picked up in pools, showers, and changing rooms (anywhere where you walk around barefoot).

Once your feet have been contaminated and cramped in shoes the warm, dark, and sweaty environment provides the ideal breeding ground for the fungus. However, athlete’s foot also occurs in dry, flaky areas. It’s quite common in summer sandal-wearers. The sun makes your skin dry out, so it loses its natural protective oils; this combined with the constant trauma from sandals makes them more prone to infection.

If you do not treat it then the fungus can spread to the toe nails, causing thickening and yellowing of the nail. Fungal infections are highly contagious and can spread to anywhere on your skin. Podiatrist may help you pinpoint the best treatment for your particular type of athlete’s foot. Podiatrist can help treat the fungal infection that has spread to your nails, by reducing the thickness and cutting back the nails, thereby exposing the infected nail bed to a lighter, cooler environment.

Remember these steps to preventing Athletes Foot

1. Change your footwear on a regular basis. There’s no point sorting your feet out if you constantly re-infect them by putting them into damp, fungal infected shoes. It takes 24-48 hours for shoes to dry out properly, so alternate your shoes daily.

2. To help shoes dry out more quickly, take any insoles out. Also, loosen any laces and open your shoes out fully so that air can circulate. Go for trainers with ventilation holes.

3. If your shoes are so tight that they squeeze your toes together, this encourages moisture to gather between your toes and encourages fungus. Let air circulate between the toes by going for a wider, deeper toebox instead and choose shoes made from natural materials.

4. Change your socks every day.

5. Wear flip-flops in the bathroom and in public showers. This will not only ensure that you don’t leave your dead skin around for others to pick up, but will stop you picking up another species of fungus! And never wear anyone else’s shoes, trainers or slippers.

Brett Farve Suffers Ankle Injury

41-year-old Minnesota Viking quarterback, Brett Favre, suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle on October 24. Favre came into the season with an ailing left ankle and now his future with the Vikings seems uncertain.  A stress fracture is a small crack in the bone. Stress fractures often develop from overuse, such as from high-impact sports. Most stress fractures occur in the weight-bearing bones of the foot and lower leg. Favre received his stress fracture from the weight of a defender coming down on top of him, jamming the joint.

Favre is currently resting his ankle in a walking boot in the hope that it will alleviate some discomfort. There may be cracks or loading fractures in Favre's ankle that are due, in part, to the already weakened condition of the bone in the area. A podiatrist would evaluate the stress fracture with an X-ray; however, this will not reveal a stress fracture for several weeks. Favre would be taking a big chance if he decided to play against the New England Patriots on Halloween night. If he plays, the bone might weaken and become susceptible to fracture. A foot specialist would tell you that the best treatment for a stress fracture is rest. Taking a break from the routine and doing some low impact exercise for a few weeks can help the bone heal. Also, a foot specialist might offer special shoes to immobilize your feet.  If rest isn't taken, chronic problems such as larger and more persistent stress fractures can develop like Favre suffered. If you suffer from heel or arch pain, please come see a podiatrist. A podiatrist will relieve that pain and make it possible for you to return to your normal life as quick as possible.

Copper Socks in the Chilean Mine Rescue

33 miners were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) below ground in a San Jose mine in Chile. The men were kept alive over that time by supplies delivered through narrow holes drilled down to them until they were reunited with their loved ones.

Of the many tools and technologies used to bring the 33 miners back to the surface, one was copper socks. Copper socks are made with copper fibers that consume foot bacteria and minimize odor and infection. Copper socks were the first items delivered to the trapped Chilean miners to protect any bacteria and fungus developed in the feet. Copper socks can prevent 99.9% of bacteria and fungi from growing on the sock to control odor

and rejuvenate skin and improve its appearance. Copper socks are growing in popularity and people are buying them daily. They are comfortable because of the elasticized arch support for added performance.

It goes to show you how important copper socks are and can be for somebody. We offer these incredible socks here at our office! Copper Socks are made with polyester fiber and feel great. These socks fit great no matter what size your feet are. Please understand how important copper socks can be for your feet and come into Dr. Wachtels office to find out more.

Howard Stern Fractured His Toe

Howard Stern, a morning host on Sirius Satellite Radio, announced that he broke his toe on the corner of his desk. Many people will do this and it is a very common issue among accidents that happen in life. Most people would do nothing about a broken toe; however, Stern took the right steps towards professional treatment. You never want to leave a broken toe untreated because you may never walk the same way again. Also, it can lead to infections and extraordinary pain. Stern did the right thing by seeing a podiatrist and he was x-rayed and treated right away. The foot specialist used what they call a buddy splint to tape his 5^th toe to the 4^th. Also, Stern was told to wear a walker boot which will help prevent the affected bones from moving to create pain. Some podiatrist will make you wear a surgical shoe; however, others might stay with the walker boot. These devices are used for maximum protection and for stabilizing the complete ankle foot assembly.

At Dr. Wachtels office we know how important toe fractures can be to somebody. There are two types of foot fractures: stress fractures and general bone fractures. Stress fractures usually occur in the bones of the forefoot extending from the toes to the middle of the foot. Stress fractures are like tiny cracks in the bone surface. They can happen with sudden increases in exercise (such as running or walking for longer distances or times), improper training techniques, or a change in surfaces. We want you to know that a toe fracture is a serious injury and it can be treated! A simple x-ray will lead us to discover your pain and fast treatment will begin on that toe that hurts. We take pride in our saying, “Walk Well with Dr. Wachtel” because we always want to get our patents to 100%!

Is Your Child Experiencing These Problems?

It's incredibly important to deal with foot and ankle pain at a young age. Your feet are what carry you for your whole life. It's important to build a strong foundation for your body. If you don't have that strong foundation you may develop knee, hip, back, and shoulder pain, just from problems in your feet.

In a young child's feet the bones are soft and more apt to develop deformities with abnormal pressure. This includes wearing shoes that are too tight, which may halt development. In the first year of life a child's foot develops to almost half the size of an adult's foot. This first year is critical to their development.
While a child is growing it is very important to change shoes and socks sizes every few months. This gives their feet the room to grow and develop that they need. Shoes should also be flexible and comfortable for the child. You should be aware of your child's walking pattern in order to catch any underlying defect or condition. We are able to treat foot and ankle conditions and address any concerns you may have.

Sports injuries are on the rise in children as more and more become actively involved. One of the most common sports injuries are ankle sprains. X-rays are often the best way to detect any fracture or break, which can be treated with a fiberglass cast. There are other treatment options for ankle sprains such as soft casts and pneumatic walking splints that help treat both ankle and foot problems. Soft casts can be used for fractures and are more comfortable than fiberglass casts. It allows more movement, but still provides support. A pneumatic walking splint immobilizes the foot and ankle, but still allows the patient to walk with the splint on. After patients are taken out of a boot or a splint, a light or structurally sturdy ankle brace is usually dispensed to them.

After a full recovery from an ankle sprain the ligaments are still weakened. Custom made and over the counter orthotics can help provide the support needed to the weak ankle. Our over the counter orthotics can be dispensed directly to the patient. These orthotics are low cost if they are not already covered by insurance. Physical therapy is also an important step in the recovery process so that your child can get back onto the field as soon as possible.
Heel and arch pain is a major condition treated in the podiatric world. Heel and arch pain are usually symptoms of an underlying issue. Heel pain is often felt by 8-14 year olds because their feet are still growing and developing. During the growth their heel bone is weak and any stress put on it can often cause this pain. Heel and arch pain can be treated with orthotics. If this pain is not treated during childhood years later on they will experience worse pain. Treatment with orthotics is often a way to keep children with heel and arch pain from seeing an orthopedist for these problems later in life.
Limb length discrepancy is often a problem experienced by young children. This problem is simply when one leg is longer than the other leg. The difference can be anywhere from 1 centimeter to more than 6 centimeters. The greater the difference the more the patient has to compensate in their walking technique, posture, etc. Leaving this untreated can lead to many problems including back, ankle, and hip problems. Orthotics can help to correct any walking and posture changes. A simple adjustment to an orthotic can help to easily treat any length discrepancy.

Another common issue experienced by many children is called knock-knees which is when your knees touch but your ankles are not touching. This becomes apparent from age 2-3 and gets progressively worse until age 4. This can develop when a child is learning to walk and is trying to achieve balance. Sometimes it only occurs in one knee. Leaving knock-knees untreated can result in difficulty running and walking. Knock-knee can be treated with braces.
Often night braces are used to correct the position of the knee.
In toe and out toe are 2 of the most common gait issues. This type of gait, or walking, causes abnormal stresses on the foot and ankle as well as hip, knee, and back. Many deformities in the foot such as flatfoot and a high arch foot can cause a weakening of musculature. There are multiple types of braces can help a patient walk better. Sometimes the muscle of the upper leg and torso are weakened by the foot deformity; certain types of physical therapy and muscular strengthening exercises need to be addressed.
Toe walkers don't land on their heels when walking; because of it certain muscles in the back of the foot, leg and ankle area become very tight and certain stretching exercises will help along with certain types of braces. The shoe a child wears is extremely important to the way they land on their foot and need to be evaluated.
There are many common concerns over the type of walking pattern, pains, etc that children experience during growth. It is important to have these problems evaluated by a podiatrist so that this problem does not turn into a long-term malady. It's important to keep a close watch on these issues because often time there is a quick fix.