What to do if the skin on your ankle cracks

Cracked feet are a common problem in both men and women during winter. However, women suffer more due to various reasons. In most cases, men wear shoes and socks when going out during winter, while women do not. Therefore, this may be considered as the reason why cracked feet are more common in women during winter.

 

Symptoms: In most cases, cracks occur in the heel area. The skin there becomes a little thicker than normal. Deep cracks form in the middle of this thick skin. In some cases, the skin on the heel may crack even if it is not very thick.
In that case, if you walk with such cracked feet, you may experience mild bleeding from there.

 

Things to do to prevent cracked feet: I think the feet are the most neglected part of our body. However, we need to pay special attention to the feet at this time. The feet should be kept clean properly. Many people walk barefoot on the floor of the house in winter. This should not be done, of course, sandals should be worn. If necessary, even if you wear socks, it will provide proper protection for the feet. Even if you go outside, it is essential to wear socks to protect your feet from dry weather and dust, especially for the elderly. These instructions are more applicable.

 

Treatment: If the skin on the feet becomes too thick, you should frequently rub the heels of your feet well to maintain the normal thickness of the skin and dry your feet thoroughly and apply a suitable cream there. The most suitable ingredient for maintaining skin moisture in dry winter weather is urea, it is available in the market as a cream in any concentration starting from 10 percent to 40 percent. If urea is combined with ingredients like lanolin and glycerin, it is undoubtedly more effective than urea cream alone. If you use this paste in sufficient quantity on the heels of your feet every night before going to bed, the cracked feet will soon be transformed into healthy skin. If you do not have such a cream or paste at hand, sometimes just applying petroleum jelly or plain white Vaseline will give good results.

 

Things to be careful about: There is another type of cracked feet, which is spread all over the soles of the feet. This is a skin disease called eczema. Although it is different from ordinary cracked feet, many people may mistake the disease for cracked feet. If the skin on the feet is cracked due to an eczema-like skin disease, then using ordinary creams may not significantly improve the problem. In that case, it would be best to seek help from a dermatologist.

 

Suggested by: Dr. Zakia Mahfuza Zakaria, Senior Consultant, Dermatology, Uttara Skin Care and Laser, Dhaka.