Caluses and Corns

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Calluses and Corns

The perfect style, the perfect color, and at half-price, they’re a steal. They’re also a half-size too small. But you can take it, right?

Wrong. You’ll pay the price later in calluses, lumpy accumulations of dead skin cells caused by constant friction between your feet and your shoes. You can get calluses on your hands and fingers as well. A callus isn’t very attractive, but it isn’t painful, either, unless one on your foot develops a hard core and becomes a corn.

Corns usually appear on the outside of the little toe or on the upper surfaces of the other toes and can make a five-minute walk feel like a marathon. Some people also get soft corns, which form between the toes when they’re squeezed together so tightly that their bones rub against each other.

The best way to prevent any foot problem is by choosing shoes that fit. But the natural remedies in this chapter, used with the approval of your doctor, may help relieve calluses and corns, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... Your callus is red and feels hot to the touch. Your callus cracks and bleeds or has a bluish tint. You have diabetes and your foot problems don’t improve with home remedies. Any cut or break in the skin of your feet should be examined by a physician.

Ayurveda

Here’s a remedy from Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico: First, clean the area with tea tree oil. Then apply a paste made by mixing 1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel with ½ teaspoon of turmeric. Once the paste is applied, cover the area with a bandage. The treatment works best at night when you’re off your feet, according to Dr. Lad. (Since turmeric can stain skin and clothing, he suggests putting on old socks after you’ve applied this remedy. Any skin discoloration should wash off in about two weeks.)

In the morning, says Dr. Lad, remove the bandage and soak your foot in a bucket of warm water for ten minutes. Then rub mustard oil deeply into the corn or callus. Continue this treatment for several days, and eventually, the corn or callus will fall off, says Dr. Lad.

Both tea tree oil and aloe vera gel are available in most health food stores. Mustard oil is available in Indian pharmacies and by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634).

Food Therapy

To remove corns and calluses, try this home remedy suggested by Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. “Mix one teaspoon of lemon juice, one teaspoon of dried chamomile tea and one garlic clove that has been crushed. Rub this mixture directly on the corn one or more times a day.” This kitchen-created remedy helps dissolve corns and calluses for quicker relief, says Dr. Whitaker. Dried chamomile tea is available in most health food stores.

Homeopathy

Try a 6C dose of one of the following remedies three times a day until you see improvement, says Chris Meletis, N.D., a naturopathic physician and medicinary director at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. According to Dr. Meletis, Ranunculus bulbosus works when you have hard skin that is very sensitive, often with burning and intense itching. For painful calluses on your toes and fingers that are worse on your right side, worse with heat and better with cold, he says to use Lycopodium. Ranunculus sceleratus may help if you have a piercing pain, with burning and soreness that are worse when you let your feet hang down, he says.

All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

See also Foot Pain