6 Reasons Why You Might Have Itching Feet
The ability to feel can be a wonderful thing. It allows you to enjoy walking across plush carpet, squishing your toes in the sand at a beach, and pamper your feet with soft socks. Of course, your sense of feeling means you also have to deal with less pleasant sensations, like itchiness. Itchy feet are a common complaint with many potential culprits to start you scratching.
Itchy feet are an uncomfortable symptom of some kind of skin irritation. As your skin becomes irritated, you want to scratch more and more and may find wearing certain shoes or socks is uncomfortable for you. Sometimes the uncomfortable culprit can cause painful changes to your skin, too. Here are a few of the most common reasons people deal with itchy feet:
Athlete’s foot – Fungus festering on your feet and between your toes can make your skin dry, inflamed, and definitely itchy.
Allergies – Yes, your feet can have allergies! Contact dermatitis on your feet develops when your skin touches something that bothers it, like the glue or chemicals in your shoes, or even the detergent you use for your socks.
Dryness – Dried-out skin or lesions (like corns or calluses) can crack and feel incredibly irritated.
Hygiene issues – Sweaty feet have a lot of natural bacteria on them. This can build up over time, along with the dirt and the grime, and really irritate your skin if you don’t wash your feet.
Plants or bugs – Bug bites, poison ivy, and other things in nature can aggravate your skin.
Psoriasis – This is a serious autoimmune problem that creates painful and itchy plaques all over.
Ultimately, while there are plenty of over-the-counter remedies for itchy feet, the best way to deal with the problem is to address the culprit itself. When itchiness is a symptom of a larger condition, it won’t go away until that condition is treated. Even if it’s caused by a less serious irritant, sometimes feet need strong treatments to really heal your skin.
If you’re struggling with itchy feet that won’t go away, let Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC help you eliminate the problem and bring you sweet foot relief. There’s no need to suffer. Contact our Metairie, LA, office today to discover why your feet are itching and how to take care of it. Just call (504) 708-4810 or use our online forms to reach us.