My name is Jamie Turner and when I turned 22, I started to form a horrible case of acne. I used every cleanser and lotion I could find and I even asked my physician for a topical steroid cream to clear up the zits on my face. After six months of treatment, my physician completed a blood test that concluded that a hormone imbalance was causing my acne. I started on therapy to control the amount of estrogen my body produced. The therapy along with a good diet and exercise regimen helped to clear up my acne. I am sharing my story, because acne is not just a condition that affects teenagers. It can affect adults at any age, and it can cause a great deal of embarrassment. Don't let your acne go untreated. Read my blog instead and learn about both natural and medical treatments that can help you.
Ingrown toenails occur when your toenails grow into the surrounding skin. Here are three tips for preventing this painful condition.
Don't wear too-small shoes
If you wear shoes that are too small for your feet, you could develop a number of foot problems, including ingrown toenails. When you wear shoes that are too short, your big toe gets pushed against the second toe. This pressure isn't normal, and it can drive your toenails into the surrounding skin.
Before you buy shoes, have your feet professionally measured. If you find out that your feet are larger than average, try to buy shoes from specialty stores that keep your size in stock.
Wear socks that fit properly
While you may think of socks as being one-size-fits-all, that's actually not the case. Women's sock sizes are usually presented as 9-11, which means they're for feet that are nine to 11 inches long. This translates to shoe sizes of between five and 10. Men's socks are sized in a similar way. They'll usually say size 10-13 on the package, which means they're for feet that are 10 to 13 inches long, meaning shoe sizes eight to 12.5. If your feet are larger than this, don't try to squeeze your feet into the socks or you could get ingrown toenails. Instead, look for larger socks that will comfortably fit your feet.
Wearing socks that are too small puts pressure on your feet and toes, and this can push your toenails into the surrounding skin. When the toenail grows into the skin, you'll be left with painful ingrown toenails.
Don't forget to cut your toenails
You've probably heard that cutting your toenails too short can lead to ingrown toenails, but letting them get too long can also lead to problems. It's easy to forget to cut your toenails. Toenails grow a lot more slowly than fingernails do (1.62 millimeters a month compared to 3.47 millimeters a month), and, since they're hidden inside your shoes, you may not notice that they're getting too long. However, too-long toenails can contribute to the formation of ingrown toenails.
When your toenails get too long, they may break on their own. This is a problem because, when your nail breaks, it may become too short. Too-short toenails are a major cause of ingrown toenails because the nail can easily burrow into the surrounding flesh as it grows back. To avoid nail breakage problems, cut your toenails regularly.
If you develop ingrown toenails, see a podiatrist for treatment and check out http://familyfootanklephysicians.com/ for more information.
Share5 October 2016
