I Am a Hippocrit!

Podiatrist Demands you Wear Flip Flops?

We are nearing the time of the year that families, couples, and friends pack up their bathing suits and head south for a much needed vacation. You may be anxiously awaiting the sand, sun, and cocktails. Burring your feet in the sand beats the day to day routine of boots, snow, and cold toes. With the growing check lists for your upcoming departure, foot health may not be on your list of thing to prepare for, but maybe it should! The number most vital thing to pack to save your feet are sandals or Flip Flops!

It is not often that you hear a podiatric physician promoting flip-flops, but they can be very important in protecting you on your vacation. We often forget that viruses, bacteria, and fungus enjoy the warm weather as much as we do. Though walking around barefoot can be relaxing, it is dangerous. You can pick up warts, athletes foot, and bacterial infection just about anywhere. Always wear sandals by the pool and even in your hotel room on the carpet. Do you know who stayed in your room last and how well did they clean the carpet?

Walking barefoot in the sand is very relaxing until you step on a piece of glass, a sharp twig, a shell or whatever the last metal detector-vacationer dropped from his pocket. Flip flops do not offer you any support, but they do provide a barrier between you and something harmful. Wearing flip flops can prevent you from getting an open wound. You may be thinking so what; a little cut on my foot won’t ruin my vacation. Not only are you at risk of getting an infection, but you will also be in a lot of pain. Even a small cut is easily aggravated by the salt water in the ocean or the chlorine in the pool. Planning on going golfing? How will your cut feel after a full day of walking on the greens?

On a nice tropical evening, it is so enjoyable to take a walk on the boardwalk or watch the sunset off the deck. Where there is wood, there are splinters! I see a number of patients every year with splinters in their foot. Sometimes, they remember the exact moment the stubborn piece of wood found a home in their foot, other times they had no idea their pain was being caused by a splinter. Two things can happen with a splinter in your foot. First, the wood harvests bacteria and can cause a local infection. The area will be red, hot, swollen, and some drainage from the wound site may be noted. If possible, your body will identify the splinter and immediately wall it off to prevent an infection. This walling off mechanism may cause a painful cyst that would need to be surgically excised.

It is very rare for a podiatric physician to tell you to wear your flip-flops. Vacationing is a great time to pull out the flip flops and use them for your safety. It should be noted that flip flops only provide protection and do not provide any support. Thus, if you are doing a lot of walking or standing, you should be wearing a more supportive shoe gear.

Flip-Flops: Cute But Dangerous

Many of us northerners are just seeing the first days of spring. One day of sunshine and we rotate our closet, pack up the sweaters and pull out the shorts and spring dresses. However, what is summer without the flip-flop sandal. You can find them in every color and every store! Let’s face it, we all have enough pairs of flip-flops to last us a lifetime. We know they are not the most sensible shoe gear, but we wear them anyway. Maybe we need to be reminded of all the horrible things that happen when wearing flip-flops.
The Accident!
Can you imagine how many times you have stubbed your toe or dropped something on your foot? When wearing a flip- flop, you have almost zero protection. Every year there are countless injuries to the toes from people running in flip- flops! Broken toes, fractured bones, and toenails ripped right off. You may think I am over exaggerating, but unfortunately, I am being very honest. Everyone from toddlers to grandmas is coming to the ER because of a foot injury while wearing flip-flops.

The Burn!
Sunscreen is now mainstream and most people remember to apply SPF before exposing themselves to the sun. We pay close attention to our nose, cheeks and shoulders but do you put sunscreen on your feet? We often forget about the feet, but skin cancer can appear anywhere. Podiatrists have been taking more biopsies for suspicious growths than ever before. When wearing flip-flops you have almost no coverage on your feet, so do not forget to protect the skin with some sun block!

Where is the Support!
The traditional flip-flop is nothing more than a flat foamy plastic that is bendable and twistable. You can only imagine the amount of support it gives your foot. NONE! It may protect your foot from feeling the surface you are walking on but that is about the extent of the flip-flop function. Our foot takes on a lot of stress throughout the day and we need shoes to help absorb the workload or else our feet tire and become painful. Flip-Flops may lead to aches, pains, and the dreaded plantar fasciitis. We also tend to grip the sandals with our toes as we walk, this can lead to ugly hammertoes!

Now, let us be very honest. It is summertime and the last thing we want to do is go to the beach in athletic shoes. It is hot and humid and we want our feet to breath! If we must wear sandals, then we must be sensible. There are number of brands that have developed sandal lines with sufficient support and a little bit more protection. Traditionally these types of sandals were not very stylish, but today fashionable, healthy sandals are much more commonplace. So this summer, keep those flip-flops in the closet and opt for a comfortable and reliable sandal!