Hi, new here - Ideas for making feet strong in soggy/agricultural climate.

Hello, I have been going barefoot for a year and have just found this forum. I first decided to wear no shoes because I have perception/balance problems and "they" told me I could either buy very expensive corrective foot equipment, or go without shoes. I chose the latter, and haven't looked back.

I see a lot of people here have been going barefoot for much longer than me, so I wonder if I might ask your advice?

I live in wales where it rains most of the year and most of the land is pasture for sheep, so my feet get soggy and covered in sheep doo. I am not sure if this is healthy - can I pick up diseases when my feet are so soft (all white and wrinkly like when you have soaked too long in the bath)? A lot of the sheep have foot rot and flukes, will I get that too? I don't walk on manmade surfaces very often because there aren't any (I went into town for 2 hours two weeks ago).

When the weather dries out (for about 2 months a year) my feet go leathery - how can I keep them like this? I thought maybe I could tan them like leather by cleaning them with very strong tea, but that seems to dissolve a layer of skin rather than making them thicker/stronger. I saw an article saying that some athletes pee on their hands/feet to make them tougher (gross! but I would be willing to try it if it actually worked). In ayurvedic medicine it says to rub seseme/sunflower oil on your feet every night before you go to bed. British army boys rub their feet with surgical spirit before they go on hikes so they don't blister. Ballerinas use surgical spirit too.

In your experience are any of these ideas effective or are they just old wives tales? Can you think of anything else I could try? sorry for such a long 1st post.

 

I don't think you will pick up any parasites from the sheep dip--that is strictly in tropical climates. But you might want to ask a professional, perhaps at an agricultural college. It does sound like an increased risk--however the risk would be taken by anyone who exposes any skin to it, not just the soles. In other words, anyone who wears open toed shoes would also be at risk, so the professionals may be interested in thinking about this issue even for non-pure barefooters.

As for the latter questions--they do sound like old wives tales, and your feet are not designed to toughen based on chemical exposures. In the wetter months, take some time each week to walk around on asphalt, concrete, or gravel--that will probably keep your soles leathery.

 

Hey man! I happy to hear it. I walked without a shoes 3 months every year for 3 years. Goo is super safe until you are not hurt. But even if you are hurt piss on your toe from time to time and again you're fine.
Solders are winkers. They are just mummy boys without the brain able to killing without questioning. Not hippie style.
If you don't like pee on yourself do a strong tea from chamomile. It's also disinfecting.
Streets in big cites are not good in the rainy day. There you can catch something. But not from goo on the field.

 

go barefoot regularly, trim your toenails, wash them feet from time to time. with tea or chamomile if you like. dont tread on shit with open wounds. better, dont go barefoot with open wounds. dont know whether is's a threat for men but footrot needs some wound in the hoof to build up as a rule watch your step. when your soles will get tougher, dont let them crack: soak and file the hard callouses as soon as or before they start cracking or else they will turn into ethernal wounds. blisters are not an issue for a barefooter, they are all woes caused by footwear.

> In ayurvedic medicine it says to rub seseme/sunflower oil on your feet
> every night before you go to bed

what's that particularly good for? toughening? general foot health? lemme know

 

Well, as Hekatia333 wrote, she's barefooting in soggy and wet weather. I'm sure you know, how dry your skin can feel e.g. after a rainy barefoot day. Natural oils are OK for moisturizing your skin again. I use bag balm sometimes, when it's cold and wet outside to prevent my feet getting too dry, as the wet weather and the natural oils of my skin do not get along very well.

Great moisturizer and also keeps the feet warm.

Of course, ayurvedic treatments are always quite oily and slippery (think about the massages, where you're literally soaked in warm oil all over... yum!)

wiggling toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

mmmmhhh... sounds tempting.
wiggling toes!

 

Gah! My first post and then life happened and dragged me away from the computer for ages, sorry. Thanks for all the responses, I am going to try chamomile tea.

Hee! Yes I know this from looong experience of growing up amongst them, they do tend to be dolts, bless them

I think it's just general foot health, maybe to 'seal' the sole. It does make them soft, but I don't think it weakens them.

What is that?

 

Bag Balm Ointment

 

Hmm, I didn't know that there is an actual brand going by that name... over here in Germany you can get this stuff from drugstores as a low-price no-name product, sometimes as the pure fat ointment, and also coming with marigold or tea tree essence in it.

wiggling moisturized toes,

~*Ganesha*~