Cracked Heals or Dead Skin…Rough, dry, or hard skin on feet can be unpleasant for both tactile and visual senses. A soft, well-moisturized foot is a sign of overall good health.

Immediately see a doctor if someone notice redness or other signs of infection, such as an odor or leaking cracks.

Causative factors for Cracked Heals:

• Diseases and Disorders-Athlete’s foot, Psoriasis, Eczema, Thyroid disease, Diabetes, obesity, xerosis (skin dryness), Sjögren’s syndrome, athlete’s foot, a fungal infection, heel spurs, bony growths etc.
• Put a lot of pressure on the heels all time (professional).
• Hard floors may also cause cracks in the feet. Standing for prolonged periods in a damp area such as a bathroom can cause dry and cracked heels.
• Deficiency of vitamins like vit-A, K, C etc, minerals like carbon, zinc, phosphorus, Sulphur etc.
• Continuous exposure to water.

Symptoms

• Surface on the skin are simple indicators of a faulty internal activity or an external abuse.
• Red or Flaky Patches on feet,
• Peeling and Cracked Skin: This symptom generally follows the red or flaky skin. Peeling cracked skin is a definite sign of dry cracked heels and immediate measures must be taken to treat the condition,
• Itchy skin is caused by the abnormal shrinking of the upper layers of dry skin. This excessive shrinking causes the stretching of the skin below and around the affected areas and this results in general discomfort and itching,
• Bleeding or discharge from cracks in heels is a very serious problem as it indicates that the cracks not only affect the upper layers of the skin but also the lower layers of tissue. Deep cracks in the heels will also increase an individual’s risk of suffering from a skin infection.

How to diagnose Cracked Heals?

A doctor can diagnose dry feet with a physical exam and by asking about the symptoms. Doctor may also want to test the for-skin conditions and disorders. Blood and skin tests are used to rule out conditions such as dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema. Doctor will also inquire about your medical and family history.

Allopathic treatment for cracked heals

Over-the-counter solutions for dry feet, search for labels that say things such as:

• Urea,
• Salicylic acid,
• Alpha-hydroxy acid,
• Saccharide isomerate,
• Lactic acid.

These ingredients help soften skin while removing dead skin, but they might cause some stinging or irritation.

Strapping

This involves using a bandage or dressings around the heel to keep the skin from moving around.

Debridement

In this procedure, a medical professional cuts away the thick, hard skin on patient’s heels.‌

Skin glue

A doctor may use glue designed for use on the skin to hold the edges of the heel fissures together. This can allow them to heal.

Shoe inserts

Insoles in shoes may offer better support by redistributing the weight on patient’s heels. This can prevent the fat pad from expanding sideways and cracking the heels.

Homeopathic treatment for cracked heals

Homeopathy offers a long-lasting solution to cracked feet by treating the causative dryness rather than trying to only heal the existent lesion. It treats the root cause of the disease or problem and heals naturally, reducing the likelihood of disease recurrence.

Homeopathic medicines should logically be taken at the beginning itself because delaying the appropriate treatment will only cause the problem to get more chronic and take longer to treat Homeopathic treatment believes in internal treatment and can give permanent cure to cracks.

In Homeopathy, cracks are considered as an outburst of an internal disease, which should be treated internally. So, the internal Homeopathy medicine is often the best natural option to stop recurrence of cracks by raising natural resistance and treating dry skin without any side-effects.

Commonly indicated Homeopathic medicines:

Petroleum

Acting on sweat and oil glands. Canthi fissured. Skin around eyes dry and scurfy. Eczema, intertrigo, etc, with intense itching, sore to touch. Fissures in meatus. Nostrils ulcerated, cracked, burn, tip of nose itches. Epistaxis. Ozaena, with scabs and muco-purulent discharge. Face dry, constricted.

Fetid sweat in axillae. Knees stiff. Tips of fingers rough, cracked, fissured every winter. Scalding sensation in knee. Cracking in joints. Skin moist, itch and burn. Bedsores. Skin dry, constricted, very sensitive, rough and cracked, leathery. Herpes. Slightest scratch makes skin suppurate. Intertrigo; psoriasis of hands. Thick, greenish crusts, burning and itching; redness, raw; cracks bleed easily. Rhagades worse in winter.

Carbo Animalis

Skin spongy, ulcers, copper-colored eruption. Acne rosacea. Chilblains, worse in evening, in bed and from cold. Verruca on hands and face of old people, with bluish color of extremities. Glands indurated, swollen, painful, in neck, axillae, groin, mammae; pains lancinating, cutting, burning. Burning, rawness and fissures; moisture. Bubo.

Carbo Vegetabilis

Skin blue, cold ecchymosed. Marbled with venous over distension. Itching. Moist skin; hot perspiration; senile gangrene beginning in toes; bed sores; bleed easily. Falling out of hair, from a general weakened condition (malnutrition). Indolent ulcers, burning pain. Ichorous, offensive discharge; tendency to gangrene of the margins. Purpura. Varicose ulcers, carbuncles.

Hepar Sulphuricum

Abscesses: suppurating glands are very sensitive. Papules prone to suppurate and extend. Acne, suppurate with prickly pain, easily bleed. Unhealthy skin: every little injury suppurates. Chapped skin, with deep cracks on hands and feet. Ulcers, with bloody suppuration. Ulcers very sensitive to contact, burning, stinging, easily bleeding. Sweats day and night without relief. Constant offensive sweat. “Cold sores” very sensitive. Chronic and recurring urticaria. Smallpox. Herpes circinate.

Phytolacca Decandra

Skin: Itches, becomes dry, shrunken, pale. Papula and pustular lesions. Disposition to boils, and when sloughing occurs. Squamous eruptions. Syphilitic eruptions. Swelling and induration of glands. Venereal buboes. Scarlatina-like rash. Warts and moles.

Acid Nitricum

Fetid foot-sweat, causing soreness of toes, with sticking pain. Sweating of palms, hands; cold, blue nails. Offensive sweat in axillae at night. Warts, large jagged; bleed on washing. Ulcers bleed easily, sensitive; splinter-like pains; zigzag, irregular edges; base looks like raw flesh. Exuberant granulations. Black pores on face, papules worse on forehead.

Crackling of feet with bleeding on washing. Fetid foot sweat causing soreness of toes. Cold, blue nails. Chill blains on feet and toes. Splinter like pains.

Arsenicum Album

Swelling of feet. Sciatica. Burning pains. Peripheral neuritis. Diabetic gangrene. Ulcers on heel. Paralysis of lower limbs with atrophy.

Skin itching, burning, swellings; edema, eruption, papular, dry, rough, scaly; worse cold and scratching. Malignant pustules. Ulcers with offensive discharge. Anthrax. Poisoned wounds. Urticaria, with burning and restlessness. Psoriasis. Scirrhous. Icy coldness of body. Epithelioma of the skin. Gangrenous inflammations.

Lamium Alba

Tearing in the extremities. Hemoptysis. Blisters on heel from slight rubbing. Ulcers on heel.

Allium Cepa

Lame joints. Ulcers on heel. Painful affections of fingers about nails neuralgia of stump. Bad effects from getting feet wet. Limbs, especially arms, feel sore and tired.

Sarsaparilla Officianalis

Skin emaciated, shriveled, lies in folds, dry, flabby. Herpetic eruptions; ulcers. Rash from exposure to open air; dry, itching; comes on in spring; becomes crusty. Rhagades; skin cracked on hands and feet. Skin hard, indurated. Summer cutaneous affections.

Burning on sides of fingers and toes. Onychia, ulceration around ends of fingers, cutting sensation under nails. Rheumatism, bone pains. Deep rhagades on fingers and toes; burn under nails. Tetter on hands; ulceration around ends of fingers. Cutting sensation under nails.

Borax Veneta

Feeling as of cobwebs on hands. Itching on back of finger-joints and hands. Throbbing pain in tip of thumb. Stitches in sole. Pain in heel. Burning pain in great toe; inflammation of balls of toes. Eczema of toes and fingers with loss of nails. Psoriasis. Erysipelas in face. Itching on back of finger-joints. Unhealthy skin: slight injuries suppurate. Herpes. Erysipelatous inflammation with swelling and tension. Chilblains. Trade eruptions on fingers and hands, itching and stinging.

Zincum Metallicum

Soles of feet sensitive. Steps with entire sole of foot on floor. Varicose veins, especially of lower extremities. Formication of feet and legs as from bugs crawling over the skin. Eczema, especially in the anemic and neurotic. Itching of thighs and hollow of knees. Retrocession of eruptions.

Rhus Toxicodendron

Skin red, swollen; itching intense. Vesicles, herpes; urticaria; pemphigus; erysipelas; vesicular suppurative forms. Glands swollen. Cellulitis. Burning eczematous eruptions with tendency to scale formation. Crawling sensation in the tips of fingers. Skin tender and painful.

Lycopodium Clavatum

Skin ulcerates. Abscesses beneath skin. Hives. Violent itching; fissured eruptions.  Pain in heel. Painful callosities on soles; toes and fingers contracted. Chronic eczema, bleeds easily. Skin becomes thick and indurated. Varicose veins, naevi, erectile tumors. Brown spots, freckles worse on left side of face and nose. Dry, shrunken, especially palms; hair becomes prematurely gray. Dropsies. Offensive secretions; viscid and offensive perspiration, especially of feet and axilla. Psoriasis.

Graphites

Toenails crippled. Stiffness and contraction of toes. Nails brittle and crumbling. Nails deformed, painful, sore, thick, and crippled. Cracks or fissures in ends of fingers. Offensive perspiration of feet.

Skin rough, hard, persistent dryness of portions of skin unaffected by eczema. Early stage of keloid and fibroma. Pimples and acne. Eruptions, oozing out a sticky exudation. Rawness in bends of limbs, groins, neck, behind ears. Unhealthy skin: every little injury suppurates. Ulcers discharging a glutinous fluid, thin and sticky. Swelling and induration of glands. Gouty nodosities. Cracks in nipples, mouth, between toes, anus. Swelling of feet.

Antimuonium Crudum

Feet very tender; covered with large horny places. Inflamed corns. Pain in heels. Eczema with gastric derangements. Pimples, vesicles, and pustules. Sensitive to cold bathing. Thick, hard, honey-colored scabs. Urticaria; measle-like eruption. Itching when warm in bed. Dry skin. Warts. Dry gangrene. Scaly, pustular eruption with burning and itching, worse at night.

Home Remedies to Remove Dead and Hard Skin on Feet

Ummi Baby Lotion is an organic lotion but if you don’t have it try home remedies to maintain proper foot hygiene. The following remedies will help treat dead or hard skin on feet.

1. Warm Water

Warm water can help relax the feet; this will loosen up dead skin cells that would cause the feet to become dry.

2. Homemade Scrub

Once you clean and dry your feet, you can apply a homemade antifungal powder foot scrub that is great for removing dead skin and for dry and stinky feet.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp bentonite clay
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 2 drops cinnamon essential oil
• 2 drops clove essential oil
• 2 drops frankincense essential oil
• A glass shaker bottle or glass jar

In a small bowl, combine cayenne powder and bentonite clay. Add the essential oils and blend well. Place the scrub into a glass jar or bottle.

Adding some water, it is ready to use, apply it twice daily for up to two weeks.

3. Wax Foot Wrap

Wax is a good way to soften and retain moisture in the skin while also lessening the accumulation of dead skin cells. This natural treatment will improve circulation and soften rough skin of the feet.

Ingredients:

• Paraffin wax
• Vitamin E oil
• Coconut oil

Directions:

Add some coconut oil and vitamin E oil to some paraffin wax and wrap around your feet.

Submerge your feet in a footbath for few seconds, remove the feet from the bath while the wax hardens. The feet are dipped a few more times to form a thick wax layer, before being allowed to dry for 10 to 15 minutes. Peel or rub away the wax and discard.

Alternatively, you can heat the paraffin wax in a double boiler before applying the mixture to the feet. Wear a pair of socks over the paraffin wax and leave it on overnight. Scrub the application off with a soft brush and rinse it with natural/organic face wash (best for removing dead cells from skin) with lukewarm water.

4. Glycerin Mixture

Glycerin is an organic compound often sourced from vegetable oil or animal fat. It is able to moisturize the skin and prevent feet from drying or becoming flaky. It’s also used for scaly, rough, and itchy skin.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp glycerin
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

Combine glycerin and lemon juice in a small bowl. Apply the mixture to your feet and leave it for 20 minutes; Wash it off with clean water.

5. Epsom Salt Soak

Epsom salt is a natural anti-inflammatory and exfoliating remedy that contains magnesium, and this can help improve blood circulation, reduce pain, and expel toxins from the feet. Take some Epsom salt and add some lukewarm water, its ready to use.

• Clean your feet with organic face wash.
• Soak feet in Epsom added water for about 15 minutes.
• Let the feet dry, then scrub to remove dead skin.
• Repeat the procedure three times per week.

6. Homemade Mentholated Rub

Mentholated vapor rub is a common remedy for cough and congestion symptoms; however, some people recommend vapor rub rather than foot cream for dry or dead skin. Below is a homemade vapor rub recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup grated beeswax
• 20 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 20 drops peppermint oil

Directions:

Pour coconut oil, olive oil, and beeswax into a glass jar. Place a saucepan with two inches of water over medium-low heat. Place the jar into the saucepan and allow the oils to melt and stir to combine.

Once combined, allow to cool slightly and add the essential oils now pour the mixture into a glass jar.

7. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is an effective remedy that treats dead skin, it removes dead skin while keeping the skin properly moisturized.

Ingredients:

• Oatmeal
• Rose water

8. Raw Honey

Raw honey is known to have natural healing properties. It does everything from improve circulation, relieve eczema, heal wounds, reduce inflammation, and exfoliate dry winter skin. Here are a couple raw honey recipes for your dry and dead skin on your feet.

Raw honey mix it in lukewarm water and apply at feet thrice a week.

or

Take 1 to 2 tbsp raw honey, 1 tbsp rice flour, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.

Apply the mixture over feet and leave it on for 15 minutes… three to four time a week.

Tips to Avoid Developing Dead and Hard Skin on Feet

• Always dry your feet thoroughly after washing them, and apply a moisturizing substance such as
• Speaking of bacteria, it is a good idea to get lots of good bacteria in the diet. Some good options include kombucha, kimchi, and sauerkraut.
• Eliminate processed foods, especially farm-raised meat, sugary snacks, refined grains, fried foods, and processed oils, cold drinks etc.
• Stay away from steam baths since heat leads to dry and dead skin on feet. Alternatively, use lukewarm water for bathing.
• Do not wash too frequently since water washes away naturally occurring body oils (also lowers your immune system).
• Wear comfortable footwear, and make sure you can move around your toes within the gaps between the front of the shoe and the longest toes. Be aware that your feet will swell as the day continues. That is why avoiding heels is a good idea.

PS: This article is only for doctors having good knowledge about Homeopathy and allopathy, for learning purpose(s).

For proper consultation and treatment, please visit our clinic.

Location, address and contact numbers are:

Dr. Sayyad Qaisar Ahmed (MD {Ukraine}, DHMS); X-senior research officer Dnepropetrovsk state medical academy Ukraine; is a leading Homeopathic physician practicing in Al-Haytham clinic, Umer Farooq Chowk Risalpur Sadder (0923631023, 03119884588), K.P.K, Pakistan.

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