Alabama's Quarterback AJ McCarron's Ingrown Toenail

It is the start of college football season and people are grabbing their jersey's team gear and making all of the delicious football snacks you can think of. Fans are gathering at the stadiums and around their living room tvs to watch their team fight it out to the end to become the best. For the quarterback of the #1 Alabama team, he is having a rough start to the season. AJ McCarron
is said to have been walking around in a boot after having had an ingrown toenail removed.

When most people have an ingrown toenail, they think big deal, how could it be that painful. The reality is that until you have had one, you have no room to speak. They hurt like all get out and anyone that tells you otherwise hasn't had a full on one. Now you might ask, why did he get it removed right before the season started? Ingrown toenails have the potential to become an area of infection and great pain. This is why it needs to be removed as soon as possible so that it doesn't become an area of infection and lead to much bigger issues. Once you have had your ingrown removed, you will need a surgical shoe just for a couple of days while the are heals and closes up well.

If you have an ingrown toenail, you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be an infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics and it could become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Dracut or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Injured Achilles

Achille's ruptures are a fairly common occurrence and they tend to happen more often in sports that include jumping and fast side to side movements. They can also occur in just everyday life by stepping off of a curb wrong or going up a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, as important as it is for you to get back to exercise and work out, new work outs that are jumped into too quickly can lead to many injuries because you can irritate your tendons due to overstress.

So, how can an Achille's injury be treated. There are two options, either conservative or surgical. Either way, it is important that you get to your podiatrist as quickly as possible. Achilles injuries are an emergency and require immediate treatment. If surgery is being sought after, it is best to have surgery within the first 24-48 hours. if you wait, then it doesn't really matter when surgery is because your tendon will have already started to retract. While you wait to go to the doctor, you need to stay off of it, ice, prop your foot up and take some ibuprofen if needed.

If you have injured your Achilles, you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be an injured Achilles that can become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Chatham or North Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Athlete's Foot

Summer time is one of the worst times of year for athlete's foot. With the heat, the humidity and everyone wanting to go swimming, this leaves the perfect environment for fungus to grow. Fungus likes wet, dark area and in between your toes is the perfect definition of this. The harm of this environment for your feet is that athlete's foot can be something as simple as itching and burning, when it gets worse though, it can become an infection that could require surgery to rid the infection from your body.

So, what can you do to avoid athlete's foot. There are a few simple rules including don't share shoes with anyone, use a paper towel to dry between your toes after a shower, if your feet tend to get very sweaty then change socks throughout the day, and finally if you have a tendency to get athlete's foot, then you can spray your shoes with Lysol at night and let them dry before the next morning.

It is important when your foot starts to itch that you check your foot to see if it is dry, red or flaky skin. Athlete's foot generally  starts between your toes, but it can quickly spread to the entire foot. If you notice patches of dry skin with a clear center to them this is a pretty reliable sign that this is athlete's foot.

If you notice your foot is itching, dry skin, blisters or drainage from your foot, you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be an athlete's foot infection that can become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Lowell or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Do you Have Ankle or Arch Pain?

Do you have pain in the arch of your foot or on the inside of your ankle? Are you unable to stand on your feet for very long before you have to sit down and take a rest? Have you noticed that your foot seems flatter than what you remember? If you have noticed any of these things occur then you should come in and see your podiatrist immediately.

There is a condition where when your arch starts to collapse pressure and strain is placed on one of your tendons that causes irritation and a great deal of pain. The key to treating this condition is to get it early on. The sooner you start to treat this condition, the less of a problem you will have. However, if you choose to delay, the problem will continue to progress and can get to the point where conservative treatment is not an option.

In the early stages of this condition, you can start with orthotic inserts to help support the arch. If the condition has progressed, then you may need to use a brace in order to hold your arch that can be tightly tied and strapped to prevent the stress on your tendon. Past this stage, surgery becomes a possibility, but it is a very involved surgery that should be avoided if necessary.

If you notice your ankle or arch is hurting, you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be a problem with your tendon that can become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Lowell or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

My Toe is Changing Color

Is your toe starting to turn a different color. Is it bluish or black? Changes in color can be linked  to blood flow and if you are diabetic then it is even more possible that it could have to do with your blood flow. As we start to get older, our pipes can start to get blocked and the arteries and veins may not work as well as they once did. If you are not getting enough blood flow to the area, you may start to notice the changes in skin color as a result.

So, what should you do? When the color of your skin starts to change, it is important that you come to see your podiatrist so that they can help you determine what the change in color is due to. If it has to with blood flow, then it will be necessary to get blood flow studies to see how much blood is getting to your toes. If their is a blockage, then it may be something that vascular needs to intervene on.

Toe color changes can also result from poor venous return and so the blood pools in your feet and you can end up having color changes due to the collection of heme, a metal in your blood that can't be broken down. So, instead it collects and changes the color of  your skin to a dusky black color.

If you notice the color of your toes changing you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be a problem with your blood flow that can become much worse if not taken care of quickly. If you live in the Dracut or Chatham, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Walking on a Stone

If you feel along the bottom of your foot, you will notice that there is a band of tissue that runs right under the skin. If you move your foot up and down you will see how this band of tissue moves with your foot. This tissue can sometimes have a ball of fibrous tissue that forms in the band. If an area of injury occurs in the fascia such as a small tear, a ball of fibrous tissue can form called a plantar fibroma.

So, what is the harm of these plantar fibromas. Well, the only time that it is an issue is if you experience pain. Some people will describe that they feel like they are walking on rocks. Others will say that they feel like they are walking on a ball under their foot. If this becomes enough of an issue, you can actually experience a great deal of pain because of the discomfort under your feet.

So, what are the options that you have for treatment? One option is to get a shoe insert that has extra cushion to try and prevent you from feeling like you are walking on a stone. The other option is to have the plantar fibroma surgically removed. This is the best way to take care of your pain long term, but it is a surgery and so conservative treatment is always the best first choice.

If you notice feeling like you are walking on a stone you should seek care from your  podiatrist. There could be a plantar fibroma that is causing you pain. If you live in the Dracut or Chatham, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Wart that Won't Stop Growing

Everyone has heard of the painful plantar warts that are common in children and older adults. You know that when you step down and put pressure on them that they will be very painful. Many of you have also heard that they can be treated by freezing them repeatedly or with acid to burn them off. What you may not know is that there is a type of skin cancer that can look like a wart, but it will continue to grow and has been known to take over a very large percentage of skin of a person't foot.

So, how will you know the difference? The true way to know the difference is to biopsy the wart. Some other signs to look for though are that the lesion keeps growing and getting larger, that it is a strange shape with irregular edges and that the wart is not the same color throughout. All of these things point to cancer and point to you needing to see your doctor immediately.

The question many people would have at this point is what can be done? Since this is an aggressive skin condition that will continue to grow the treatment is excision. Your podiatrist will talk to you about potential treatment, but ultimately, once that wart has converted to a cancerous lesion, it needs to be removed from your skin. Prevention for skin cancer on your feet is to not forget to put sunscreen on your feet when you are out and about. It is a commonly missed area and unfortunately is an area that has skin just like everywhere else for you and can get cancerous lesions.

If you notice any lesion on your foot that is changing shape and characterisitcs you should seek care from your podiatrist. There could be a lesion that needs to be biopsied just in case, so it’s always important to get it checked out. If you live in the Dracut or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Ingrown Toe Nail

Ingrown toenails are a common ailment for young kids. There are several causes of ingrown toenails including tight shoes, but the most common one is that they tend to be genetic. Although they are pretty common and many people won't have pain with them, they are a common source of infection. They can start out as just being painful and then all of a sudden you will notice your toe is getting puffier and you may see some oozing from the corner. This is a good sign that your toe has an infection and this needs to be taken seriously.

The treatment for ingrown toenails is getting the offending nail corner out. There are a couple of ways that this can be done and it just depends on how ingrown your toenail is. A deep corner can be cut out of your nail if it is just the edge that it is an issue. However, if the entire side is under t he skin, then you will need to have your toe numbed up and that corner trimmed out. There is a permanent procedure that can be done if you don't ever want that part of the nail to grow back again, but this cannot be performed if you have an infection. So, you will need to take antibiotics and clear up the infection so that it is a healthy area.

If you notice your toe nail has a painful corner  you should seek care from your podiatrist. There could be an ingrown nail that is causing you pain, so it’s always important to get it checked out. If you live in the North Reading or Tewksbury, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Painful calluses

There are different kinds of calluses that can form on the bottom of your foot. there is the typical kind that you can have on the bottom of your feet that are the same kind as the ones you get on your hands after using a shovel in the garden. they are due to shear forces. There are another type of calluses that can form on the bottom of your feet that are due to shear forces and pressure. These calluses actually have a central white core to them and are a result of a bony prominence beneath them that is communicating with t he surface of the skin. They are very painful, and people describe them like they are walking on a pebble.

These calluses with a core are often confused for being a wart and are regularly misdiagnosed. The hazard of misdiagnosing them is that they are treated differently. Warts are often frozen off or burned off, but a callus with a core to it is debrided off just like a callus. To permanently get rid of this type of callus, you will have to shave off the bony prominence. Conservatively though, you can pad the area to reduce the pressure on the bottom of the foot. These pads are temporary though, and they won't last. Unfortunately, these are a temporary fix, and you will still form a certain amount of callus even with the pad.

If you notice your calluses are painful  you should seek care from your podiatrist. There could be a core to your callus that is causing you so much pain, so it’s always important to get it checked out. If you live in the Chatham or Tewksbury, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.

Hazards of Acrylic Nails

Acrylic nails can be stylish for many and can allow you to lengthen your toenail if part of it fell off or if part of it was removed due to fungus or any other reason. Although they may be attractive, they come with their own slew of risks including ulcerations forming under them due to pressure or them being loose.

So, if this is the case with your acrylic nails, how will you know that something is wrong? First, you may notice some drainage coming from under your toenail. Second, your toenail will feel very sore almost like the feeling you get when you have a blister, Third, you may notice some bleeding or dry blood under your nail or on the side of it.

What can be done for it? Well, the most important thing is that the acrylic nail needs to come off. If there is some extra nail of yours that is covering part of the blister, that may need to be removed too. With the blister or ulcer exposed, it will need to be kept covered with some antibiotic ointment and a dressing. If it is deeper, it will need more serious treatment. your podiatrist may even want some x-rays to inspect the bone and make sure that it is okay.

If you notice your nail is painful or you see some drainage or blood you should seek care from your podiatrist. There could be more damage than just your nail and the skin under it, so it’s always important to get it checked out. If you live in the North Reading or Lowell, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.