Taking care of feet and hands does not mean just moisturizing. By following the below-mentioned steps, you can protect your hands and feet against severe infections and cancer. Here, we are discussing a few remedies to take care of your hands and feet. You probably have a regular regimen for cleaning and moisturizing your face. But do you take care of your hard-working feet and hands?
Hands are the most frequently used body part. They become dry fast, so it is important to take care of your hands to maintain their softness. And feet bare your body weight the entire day.
During winter, feet and hands probably look dull, cracked, and red. Avoid wearing mittens and boots to hide them. Caring them can offer long-lasting health benefits too.
Issues Associated with Hands and Feet
One of the major issues associated with hands and feet is dryness combined with roughness. That is because these twos are the most overexposed and overworked parts of our body… and unluckily the most neglect one too!
Cracked heels are another problem that leaves a bad impression. With summers on full swing, problems associated with skincare, mainly pertaining to feet and hands became common and obvious. While you step out of the sun wearing a shirt dress or a sleeveless top, your arms, legs, and hands come under the direct sunlight. This causes tanning, darkening, and discoloration.
With temperatures rising in the summers and your feet that are enclosed in tight footwear throughout the day make your feet prone to various infections like blisters, fungal infections, psoriasis, and obviously smelly feet.
Remedies to Take Care of your Hands & Feet
Scan nails for finding dark spots
Small white spots on the nails are nothing to worry about. Often, they are caused due to an injury in the base of the nail, like biting or picking it. However, if you find the spot to be brown, black, or purple, do think it is a bruise. It could be a melanoma, a serious cause of skin cancer.
How do you identify the difference?
Melanomas are generally different shades of black or brown, though there are possibilities of any color, and the discoloration can extend to the cuticles too.
Often, bruises are blue in color with a reddish shade and it involves the nail only. To identify dark spots, you must keep checking your nails regularly. If you always wear dark-colored nail polish, check your fingers and toes for any marks between manicures.
To be safe, consult a dermatologist.
Keep growing your nails strong
One of the important remedies to take care of your hands & feet is to grow them strong. You must be thinking, if the nails are dead, then how do they grow?
New cells build deep under the cuticles and push out the dead and older cells. That forms the hard, flat surfaces which we love to pamper and apply polish.
Their rate of growth varies from one person to another. But it can be altered based on hormones and age. If you are waiting for your nail to grow, try having the B-complex vitamin biotin. This supplement- found at various health stores is great for growing nails.
Do manicure and pedicure often
No nail polish in the world can make ridged and broken nails look pretty. For that, you will require nail products. If you find vertical ridges in your nail, then you can make it less noticeable using a ridge filler, available at medical stores, beauty supply stores, and retail shops.
Buffing is helpful in smoothing the surface. Make sure you rub gently so that you do not tamer your nails. Make sure you do not share files and other nail tools, as fungus and germs can pass on them, which can cause severe infections. If you go to the salon for a manicure or pedicure, it is always better to carry your own orange stick, nail file, and cuticle nipper.
Use the right moisturizer
Wind and cold temperatures dry the skin, which causes chapped and painful cracks. To smoothen your feet and hands, use foot and hand creams. In order to avoid this, while going outdoors coat your exposed hands with SPF15 to protect against loss of water and harmful rays of the sun.
Even for the feet, one should moisturize it quite often. A water-based moisturizer is the best as it gets mixed with the skin quickly and does not make the feet feel oily.
Do not neglect the cuticles
Taking care of the cuticles is one of the common remedies to take care of your hands & feet. Cuticles may seem to be insignificant when they are healthy but small damage, generally, from dryness or hangnails, leave the area susceptible to infections that may cause painful swelling. Hydrating that sensitive area with a cuticle cream or hand moisturizer will help you to create a protective barrier against fungus, yeast, and bacteria.
And resist the urge to cut the cuticles, which can break that barrier. Instead, apply cuticle remover, which softens and breaks down the skin- then push the cuticles gently with an orange stick.
Wear the shoe of the proper size
Cramming feet into too tight or pointy shoes is not just uncomfortable, but it can make your toenail grow into the surrounding skin. This can lead to an ingrown nail, which causes swelling, infection, and pain. It is an inflammatory reaction that occurs when your skin considers the nail as a foreign component. Too long toenails can also cause issues. If they constantly hit the front of the shoe, bruises can cause under the nail. These bruises, cause a break in the seal between the tie and nail, letting fungus and bacteria to get inside and cause infections.
Exfoliating
One of the most important things you must do to take care of your foot is exfoliating your feet skin. Tap dry your feet with a towel and following this take some cuticle cream and rub it on the base of every toenail. Keep the cuticle cream under the toenails intact. Make use of a foot scrub to remove all the dead and dry skin cells from your feet. You must be gentle to your feet and make sure you do not rub too hard. Next, wipe the cuticle cream and remove the cuticles gently using a cuticle pusher.
Do not go barefoot in public
One of the easiest remedies to take care of your hands & feet is to avoid going to public places like locker rooms, shoe stores, swimming pools without wearing shoes. These account for most of the nail disorders. Several studies have proved that fungus travels from floors to feet, from where it gets inside through small separations or cuts between the nail bed and nail. If you have a nail fungal infection, there are chances that it will spread from one nail to another and the skin too.
If left untreated, an infection can cause permanent nail damage or lead to severe infections in other parts of the body. Few warning signs to watch for include a nail that is thickening, crumbling, yellowing, or lifting from its bed. If you find there is an infection, consult a dermatologist as soon as possible. To reduce the risk of fungal infections, make sure you wash and dry your feet thoroughly after showering and wear shoes when you can, including flip-flops in gym showers. If your feet sweat a lot, it is better to change the socks.