Warning Signs by Our Feet

Many times when we feel ill, we rush to the mirror in the house and examine our faces to check if we are pale, flushed, or show other signs of illness. However, instead of looking at the obvious whenever you aren’t feeling well, you may want to try to look a little further down at your feet that contain quite a few clues about your health, and sometimes even alert you to the feasibility of many serious diseases. From diabetes to cardiovascular disease, these are seven symptoms that appear in your feet which you shouldn’t ignore.
The body is an amazing thing. When something isn’t quite right, it has subtle ways of letting you know. It does this through a variety of mechanisms – one of which is your feet!

Knowing and understanding what your feet are trying to say about your health can help you become more in tune with your body, and address any issues.

1. Hairless Feet

If your feet are smooth with absolutely zero hair, you might think you’ve won the beauty lottery. But actually, that can be a sign of serious circulation problems.

It's usually caused by a cardiovascular disease like arteriosclerosis; when your arteries become hardened, making your heart work harder to pump blood throughout your body.
Your heart goes into recovery mode and prioritizes certain vital areas of your body, sending reduced blood to extremities like your feet.

2. Sunken-in Toenails

Are your toes slightly sunken, with a bit of a spoon shape? This happens when your body's doesn't have enough iron  – a condition known as anemia.

And considering that anemia is by far the most common blood disorder in the nation , a whole lot of you reading this have sunken toenails.
When left untreated anemia can make you feel tired, weak and short of breath. Iron deficiency can be easily solved by eating more red meat, seafood, dark green vegetables and dried fruit.

You can also take iron supplements.

3. Long-term Sores

A sore on your feet that won’t heal is a hallmark warning sign of diabetes.

You see, an elevated blood sugar level leads to nerve damage – particularly in your feet. Cuts and sores that your body would normally heal, stick around indefinitely. In extreme cases, this can lead to severe infection in which amputation is necessary.

4. Cold Feet

Most of us some suffer from cold feet, a phenomenon that is quite common during the cold winter months. But if you notice that you can’t warm your feet up despite all the efforts, it is very possible that the problem is due to insufficient blood flow to the area. This symptom should be taken seriously, especially during menopause, due to the prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) at these ages, a disease that is manifested in the blockage of arteries, especially in the lower extremities.

Apart from the possible appearance of foot wounds and edema, peripheral artery disease increases the risk of heart disease. As a preventive measure, the Dr. recommends reducing salt-rich foods and avoiding harmful habits such as smoking, both of which can partially alleviate the problem.

Look, we’re all a little hesitant from time to time. But if you’ve got actual, literal cold feet for no apparent reason, that’s a serious problem.
It could be a sign that your thyroid – the gland responsible for warming your body – is malfunctioning by producing too much homocysteine.
Excess homocysteine can also cause heart disease, poor circulation and stiffness.

5. Yellow Toenails

Thick, yellow toenails are most often the handiwork (pun wholly intended) of a fungal infection.
You could have gotten said infection from a number of sources; culprits tend to include non-breathable shoes, public swimming pools and improper drying of your toes when they get wet.

6. Heel Pain

Do you notice sharp, shooting pains in your heel – especially when you stand up? Ah, you've met plantar fasciitis.
It’s a common foot condition in which the plantar fascia ligament in your foot becomes irregularly stretched. The ligament develops small tears and inflammation.
What causes plantar fasciitis? Repetitive strain and improper shoes are the common culprits. There are a number of natural ways to treat plantar fasciitis.

7. Numbness

Tingling in the feet is a well-known phenomenon that appears when we inadvertently block blood flow by sitting cross-legged, lotus style, or placing a foot on a leg. If you notice that there is a feeling of tingling that appears without you sitting in one of these positions, the Dr. warns that this symptom may indicate serious health problems from diabetes to excessive alcohol consumption.
Diabetes reduces blood flow to the feet and in extreme cases can lead to nerve damage and may even require amputation due to the formation of necrosis. In addition, numbness in the legs may be caused by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, due to the products of decomposition of alcohol that cause the destruction of nerve cells in the body.
Diabetes causes what is known as neuropathy – numbness and loss of feeling in the extremities. Roughly 60-70% of all people with diabetes will experience neuropathy. It usually pops up after about 25 years of poorly-managed diabetes.
If that sounds like you, check in with your doctor to see what you can do to improve your diabetes treatment.

8. Sore Foot Joints

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disorder in which your immune system makes the mistake of attacking normal tissue.
As a result, the lining of your joints becomes sore. Painful swelling soon follows.
If this sounds familiar, you’ll definitely want to get your joints checked out as soon as possible. Left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis can cause bone erosion and deformity.

9. Flaky Feet

When you’ve got flakes falling off your body, it’s never a good thing.
Flaky feet – especially if the flakes originate from between your toes –can be a sign og athlete's foot. 
It’s a very common (and contagious) fungal infection caused by tinea bacteria. Walking barefoot in public locker rooms or sharing sneakers can cause the infection.
Athlete’s foot can usually be eradicated easily, with anti-fungal creams but if you’ve also got diabetes or a weak immune system, it's recommended that you see your doctor.

10. Digital Clubbing

No, it’s not a sort of virtual reality Friday night out for shy folk. Digital clubbing is not fun at all. 
It’s a condition that leads to a change in shape in your toes. It can involve one, a few or all of your toes. The most common cause of digital clubbing is lung cancer. Other causes include pulmonary fibrosis, a heart defect and brochiectasis.
No matter what you suspect the cause of your digital clubbing to be, you’ll definitely want to have it checked out by a doctor.

11. Toes That Turn Colors

At first, you might think it’s a cool party trick. But it gets old pretty quickly, especially when you realize it's a prime feature of Raynaud's disease.
If you’ve got Raynaud’s disease, the change in color will be linked to temperature. When your feet begin to feel cold, your toes will turn white or blue. It will take about 15 minutes for your toes to return to normal color after warming.
It’s caused by abnormal blood vessels in the toes that become narrow in response to cold or stress. It’s not a life threatening disease and can be managed with a physician’s help.

Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to ignore our feet completely until they hurt, when in fact they function like any other organ in the body, and they may “quietly” allude to a variety of illnesses, including cancer. According to a Podiatrist, skin cancer is one of the most common diseases in the foot area, as many of us do not protect it with sunscreen as we do the upper body and face. "If you see a mole that has grown abnormally or notice unexplained color changes in the skin, this should be carefully examined."
In addition, the Dr. strongly recommends not skipping the toes and fingernails in search of dark spots that may signal the development of melanoma, one of the most common skin cancers.

12. Pitted Toenails

If your toenails have more holes than an episode of CSI, you may have a condition known as psoriatic arthritis. It most commonly affects those with psoriasis – a disease causing scaly, red skin.
The toenail abnormality can pop up even before skin damage and may also occur on the fingernails.
Without treatment, psoriatic arthritis can become disabling.

13.Pain

We all suffer from foot pain from time to time, especially after a long day of running from place to place. But what happens if the pain appears for no apparent reason? According to the Dr. , unexplained pain can signal a host of diseases, and severe pain that occurs immediately when we get out of bed and fades throughout the day can indicate the onset of inflammation in one of the leg joints because the joint heats up as we are active and hardens when we rest.
In order to prevent inflammation, it is recommended that you don’t compromise on good sports shoes and make sure to change them every year. If this is a pain that worsens throughout the day, this symptom may indicate a stress fracture caused by an unbalanced workout routine, which may worsen over time, so you may want to consult a specialist as soon as possible if you experience this type of pain.

14.Swelling

In addition to our feet swelling after standing on them for long hours without rest, swollen feet may also indicate heart, liver and kidney disease. According to Dr. Andersen, excessive swelling in an area with no history of unusual physical injury or exertion may occur as a result of the accumulation of salts and fluids, which is considered to be one of the known symptoms of heart failure and kidney failure. Liver disease can also lead to the accumulation of fluid in the legs, due to lack of a protein called albumin produced in the liver, which is responsible for the balance of fluids in the body.

15. Constant itching

Apart from the constant itching and bad smell, foot fungus that isn’t treated in time can also cause nail damage and even increase the chances of foot infections. In addition, fungi have a tendency to attack and infect other parts of the body, which can only prolong treatment. It is worth knowing that as you get older, your body's ability to fight infections decreases and the chances are that the disease will worsen and develop beyond a specific infection, therefore, it is important to treat it when first noticed.

16. Sudden change in walking

Each and every one of us has a unique style of walking, and such habits don’t change overnight. If you notice that your walking is changing or you hear it from people around you, you should seek medical advice immediately because sudden changes in walking may result from the appearance of various neurological problems, primarily stroke and multiple sclerosis.
In cases of multiple sclerosis, the damage to the nervous system can lead to the "numbness" of areas of the foot, sometimes without our noticing it. Another reason that can cause changes in walking is pain in the back area due to various physical infections and injuries, which can cause us to change our walking and posture unconsciously to prevent putting a heavy load on the affected area.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                             PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                    https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN FEET AND HEALTH?

Cold Feet
If your toes are always cold, one reason could be poor blood flow -- a circulatory problem sometimes linked to smoking, high blood pressure, or heart disease. The nerve damage due to uncontrolled diabetes can also make your feet feel cold. If one has  anemia or hypothyroidism, then also it can result in cold feet. A doctor can look for any underlying problems, if any.

Foot Pain
When feet ache after a long day, you might just curse your shoes.  But pain that’s not due to high heels, but may be due to a stress fracture, a small crack in a bone. One possible cause: Exercise that was too intense, particularly high-impact sports like basketball and distance running. Also, weakened bones due to osteoporosis increases the risk.

Red, White, and Blue Toes
Raynaud’s disease can cause toes to turn white, then bluish, and then redden again and return to their natural tone. The cause is a sudden narrowing of the arteries, called vasospasms. Stress or changes in temperature can trigger vasospasms, which usually don’t lead to other health concerns. Raynaud’s may also be related to rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s disease, or thyroid problems.

Heel Pain
The most common cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis, inflammation where this long ligament attaches to the heel bone. The pain may be sharpest when you first wake up and put pressure on the foot. Arthritis, excessive exercise, and poorly fitting shoes also can cause heel pain, as can tendonitis. Less common causes include a bone spur on the bottom of the heel, a bone infection, tumor, or fracture.

Dragging Your Feet
The cause may be the slow loss of normal sensation in your feet, brought on by peripheral nerve damage. About 30% of these cases are linked to diabetes. Nerve damage also can be due to infection, vitamin deficiency, and alcoholism. In many cases, no one knows what caused the nerve damage. Other possible causes for foot dragging include problems with the brain, spinal cord, or muscles.

Clubbed Toes
At times, clubbed toes is genetic and without any other known cause. In clubbing, the shape of the toes (and often the fingers) changes. The nails are more rounded on top and curve downward. Lung disease is the most common underlying cause, but it also can be caused by heart disease, liver and digestive disorders, or certain infections.

Swollen Feet
Normally after long flights or standing for long hours, feet swelling is common, so too for pregnant women. Otherwise feet that stay swollen can be a sign of a serious medical condition. The cause may be poor circulation, a problem with the lymphatic system, or a blood clot. A kidney disorder or underactive thyroid can also cause swelling. If you have persistent swelling of your feet, see a physician.

Burning Feet
A burning sensation in the feet is common among diabetics with peripheral nerve damage. It can also be caused by a vitamin B deficiency, athlete’s foot, chronic kidney disease, poor circulation in the legs and feet (peripheral arterial disease), or hypothyroidism. Or, even when you've L4-L5 prolapsed disc problem it can happen, as I had that problem, which went away after my disc surgery !

Pain in  Big Toe
Gout is known to cause sudden pain in the big toe joint, along with redness and swelling . Osteoarthritis also causes pain and swelling. If the joint is rigid, it may be hallux rigidus, a complication of arthritis where a bone spur develops. Finally, turf toe is an ailment of athletes, particularly those who play on hard surfaces. It's caused by an injury to ligaments surrounding the joint.

Pain in the Smaller Toes
If you feel like you're walking on a marble, or if pain burns in the ball of your foot and radiates to the toes, you may have Morton’s neuroma, a thickening of tissue around a nerve, usually between the third and fourth toes. Women are more prone to it than men. It is caused by injury or too much pressure on the toes.

Itchy Feet
Itchy, scaly skin may be athlete’s foot, a common fungal infection. A reaction to chemicals or skin care products -- called contact dermatitis -- can cause itching, too, along with redness and dry patches. If the skin on itchy feet is thick and pimple-like, it may be psoriasis, an over-reaction of the immune system. Medicated creams can relieve the symptoms.

Claw Toe
This foot deformity can be caused by shoes that are tight and pinch your toes or by a disease that damages nerves, such as diabetes, alcoholism, or other neurological disorder. Your toes will be bent upward as they extend from the ball of the foot, then downward from the middle joint, resembling a claw. They may respond to stretching and exercises of the toes or you may need special shoes or even surgery.

Foot Spasms
 Overwork and muscle fatigue are common causes of a sudden, sharp pain in the foot is the hallmark of a muscle spasm or cramp, which can last many minutes. Other causes include poor circulation, dehydration, or imbalances in potassium, magnesium, calcium, or vitamin D levels in the body. The changing hormone levels of pregnancy or thyroid disorders may play a role.  Strengthening exercises can help with muscle fatigue.Best, consult a doctor to know the cause and get proper treatment.

Dark Spot on the Foot
A melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, can develop in areas that are not regularly exposed to the sun. Melanoma can even appear beneath the nail, where it might look like a black spot. So, even if one is not a diabetic, it is always good to check your toes and feet regularly.

Yellow Toenails
A fungal infection often causes thickened yellow toenails. Thick, yellow nails also can be a sign of an underlying disease, including lymphedema (swelling related to the lymphatic system), lung problems, psoriasis, or rheumatoid arthritis.Consult your doctor to rule out the various causes.

White Nails
Injury to the nail or illness anywhere in the body can cause white areas in the nails. If part or all of a nail separates from the nail bed , it can appear white -- and may be due to an injury, nail infection, or psoriasis. If the nail is intact and most of it is white, it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition including liver disease, congestive heart failure, or kidney disease. Talk with your physician to rule out the various causes.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations

https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes 

https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement