 Correct heels add insult to the injury for some of us who put in long days on our feet. Hi, I'm Dr. Ahmed Ergin. I'm an anachronologist in Florida and for most of you I am for your YouTube or your Facebook diabetes doctor. Why are we talking about heels today? Because your heels might become infected with painful fissures if the skin on the bottoms of your feet and toes is overly dry. It's possible that these fissures are causing more than just discomfort guys, especially when walking. They could also be the source of dangerous illnesses such as uncontrolled diabetes. Insufficient moisture, I would say is the most common cause of heel cracks. The cracks on your skin may become inflamed and it may even bleed. Among the many possible causes of painfully dry feet are number one, the winter time, when there is a lot of snow and cold. That doesn't happen in Florida, but for most of you it probably does. Dehydration, for example, like a water intake. Insufficient moisture of your soles of your feet or sometimes indulging yourself in a steamy bath or a shower. Or rubbing your feet with an abrasive dehydrating food soaps, for example, can be another reason. Scrubbing the soles of your feet with soap is not good. That can lead to that. And these old these things can end up with make you end up with dry and cracked feet. The heel cracks can form quite readily and quickly when your feet are overly dry. So did you know that actually manicures and pedicures are quite a big business in the United States, with millions of dollars spent every year. However, beautiful nails are not always a sign of health. Have you ever gotten a pedicure for yourself? I'm sure you did, especially since you're a female, especially if you're watching this as a female, but the skin of the bottom of your feet can be as beautiful and as soft as baby's bottom one day, only to feel rougher than the sandpaper the next day. Well, you may have sensation that the skin on the bottom of your feet is the roughest part of your body, or that your heels are constantly cracked. If that is the case, you're not alone. There are numerous methods for soothing that rough skin and cracked heels, and I will discuss all that in this video. The reason I am putting so much importance on this topic is that it is possible that the skin will bleed as it splits and bacteria and viruses can enter the body through the deep services in the heels. Now, diabetics are more likely to suffer from cracked heels due to the nerve damage caused by uncontrolled blood sugar levels. The cracked heels are more prone to infection for diabetics than health individuals. Make sure to check your feet periodically for indications of infection or even regular cracks if you have diabetes. Now, obesity raises the risk of cracked heels because the heel pad expands out further due to the additional weight. Pressure and cracks can happen easily if you also have, like we said, dry skin, which is super common, as you might know, in diabetics. However, dry cracked heels are way too common in the winter. So taking long baths, hot baths, and shower on a regular basis, as we said, will make it worse. And the heel fissures are more common in those people who do not put moisturizer on their feet on a daily basis, especially if you're going to do that with oil-based lotion or moisturizer. That cracked heels can also be caused by dehydration due to bad diet or deficiency of vitamins. For example, a carnivore or a keto diet will have a lot of vitamin deficiencies. And diabetics need more vitamins than normal people overall, especially vitamin C, vitamin B3, vitamin E deficiencies, which may contribute to dry and cracked heels. So if you haven't laid eyes on our diavitamin yet, which is a vitamin complex designed exclusively for the needs of diabetic patients, please check out our website at sugarmds.com, especially if you're on these low-carb diets, which you should be. I'm not blaming you for that, but vitamin deficiencies are fairly common with those diets. What to look out for if you already have a dry or cracked heels? Well, I'll tell you some of the home remedies, but you should know a few things first if you already have a cracked skin. Number one, make sure you have a podiatrist. If your heels are already damaged and uncomfortable, and over-the-counter stuff, for example, foot lotions, doesn't help anymore, then you should see a doctor. If an infection is present, a podiatrist can offer treatment for that, as well as advice on how to speed up the healing process. There are some urea creams, for example, that can only be prescription strength. Drinking a lot of water and avoiding hot showers, like we discussed, might help prevent the sore damage to heels. You'll be getting rid of your these cracks with a well-moisturizing in a matter of a couple of weeks. Here are a few home remedies that I want to tell you that you can actually do it yourself. And hey, if you're enjoying this video so far or learning something, please hit that like button and say something in the comment below and share with someone that you may know. Also, remember, follow us on Facebook or TikTok. We are pretty much on every social media now, and we have, if you're not enjoying these super long videos or you're not enjoying me talking too much, we have short videos as well that you can find on Facebook and TikTok as well. Now, home remedy one, taking an oatmeal bath. Oatmeal bath by looking up a simple recipe online, for example. Many items required to make a bath are likely to be found in your kitchen, actually, to prepare for this bath. If not all the ingredients are there reasonably priced, they're easily accessible, you can find them in your local grocery store. Once you get all this together, relax by soaking your feet in this soothing mixture of lukewarm water and epsom salt. About around 20 minutes, remove your feet and pet your feet and ankles quite dry with a clean towel. Then seal the moisture, apply a hydrating lotion or cocoa butter or olive oil all over your feet. Now, your ankles and feet should be silky smooth after that. Epsom salt, for example, contains the mineral Epsom. You can also even try Epsom salt bath to relieve the pain in your feet and heels if you have pain. And Epsom salt is available, like you know, in every drug store or grocery store. You have to follow the packaging instructions on those in terms of how much to put in there and so forth. And you will have on your way to have this natural soothing bath and nice feet. So guys, that's all for this today and I hope you learned something. And if you did, subscribe and pass this video to someone you may know. We'll see you in the next video. Have a nice silky smooth feet. Talk to you later. Hey guys, I hope you're enjoying this channel so far and I hope you subscribed already. If you didn't do it and if you did, watch this video right there. I think that will help you too.