Thursday, July 31, 2008

Foot Note - Part 1

Did you know that your feet continue to grow as you get older? Yup, it's true! Most people will increase 1 to 2 sizes from late teens to in their 50's and 60's. When I was in my late teens, I was generally a size 7 1/2 or 8. By the time I was in my mid 30's I was an 8 1/2. Now that I am 50, I am a size 9! I've never been a fashion plate in any sense of the word, but especially when it comes to shoes. In my late teens and early 20's, I tried learning to walk in heels, but my ankles weren't strong enough to keep me balanced, so I suffered a few sprained ankles. I gave away the two pairs of 1" heels I did have and never looked back!

I used to have a lot of trouble getting shoes to fit properly, as I had a hammer toe beside the big toe on the left foot. When I was 19, I was going to have the toe straightened, but when the Doctor measured the toe, he realized that it would be significantly longer than the other toes. He recommended an amputation at the first joint, leaving a stub. I wasn't thrilled with the idea but finding any shoes that fit was a nightmare, so I agreed. You wouldn't think that loosing half a toe would effect your balance that much, but it took quite a while to find my equilibrium. I even had phantom toe for years afterwards!

I've never had a pedicure, nor have I ever really wanted one. An occasional foot massage is nice, but having someone do all the scrubbing and buffing to remove all those crusty bits that naturally develop as we put our feet through their daily paces, just seems a little weird to me.
I know there are tens of thousands of people who derive their livelihood from the pampering of our feet, but it just isn't something that I'm comfy putting myself through. BTW, have you heard about the newest trend in foot care and pedicures? News media have been chomping at the toes to bring us the news on this latest craze.

Fish Pedicures with CARP that remove the scaly skin from your feet! Apparently, they use tiny, toothless carp that nibble away at the crusty parts. People who have been brave/insane enough to try it, claim that it doesn't hurt a bit. It feels a little weird at first, but then it just kind of tickles. It takes about 15 minutes for the fish to do their job and the feet come out feeling soft as a babies bum.
The craze started in Turkey and some Asian countries, and now has it's first outlet in the USA. A salon owner in Alexandria, Virginia has begun offering the carp treatment as a warm up to the real pedicure that is done by the human staff. About 100 of the little "doctor fish" are released onto your feet in a tank of warm water - at $35.00/15 minutes or $50.00/30 minutes. In the first four months, over 5,000 people tried it!

Yeah, I don't think I really want to try that - even for free. I'll stick with the pummus stone and my monthly visit with my regular foot care nurse.

My toenails have caused me numerous problems over the years. It never seemed to matter how or who cut my nails, but I would occasionally get ingrown toenails on the big toes and the middle toes of both feet. The problem was sporadic for years, but had become chronic in the last few years - and EXTREMELY painful!

I'll tell you that story tomorrow...

dn

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