sewing up cracked heels

some time ago I was here writing about heel cracks. i know, they could be avoided or delayed with proper care but what if you find yourself with a cracked heel that just wont heal for a long time or keeps cracking open every time you slip on a rock shard and you just don't feel like wearing shoes to protect the bandage? provided that your sole are thick enough, a practical solution is: sew that heel up! it is painless,also bans the pain, it is fast and effectively keeps the crack closed until the flesh under the skin heals completely. i use nylon or silk thread and a common sewing needle. you will also discover how hard and thick the skin of the sole can get... i almost hurt my fingertips attempting to ram the needle through the skin and finally i had to wear a thimble or else i would end up with a pierced fingertip intead of a sewn-up sole. i also can post a pic, if i ever get to remember where i dropped that friggin'camera.

p.s. i am conscious that most shoddies and maybe some of you will consider this post as the result of sheer insanity.

 

To Be Quite Honest, I Have Had Lots Of Them, But Never As Bad As

What You Describe Here.

My Solution Has Been To "Pare" Away The Edges, And Fill Up The Cracks

At Night With A Suitable Creme...........Works For Me.

No, I Do Not Think You Are "Insane"....

Just Slightly "Eccentric", Like The Rest Of Us Barefooters....



Cheers Glen.

 

I've heard of using super glue to mend severly craked heels, I believe the product was originally designed in place of sutures in closing tissue.

 

I've used superglue for cracks in my fingertips during the dry winter months. It works great as a short-term fix, but tends to dry out the surrounding tissue. Eventually I pick out the dried superglue and then I have a pissed-off fingertip again. I've found that applying a liberal amount of Neosporin or Polysporin and covering it with a bandage overnight works wonders!

On a related but different note about dry heels, I went for a pedicure today. Never thought I'd do it, but my wife and a friend of hers were teasing the husbands awhile back about how we should get pedicures. I'd never considered it, but the way they described it sounded wonderful. Through Google, I found a spa that offers male pedicures, so I went. It was incredible! The connection here is that the attendant was able to remove all the dry skin from my heels. It seems that over time that layer continues to build and eventually cracks. Maybe more attention to problem areas would help avoid the cracked heel problem. If nothing else it's a good excuse to go in to get my feet pampered!

 

I love pedicures, it's definately one of my weaknesses in having an attractive woman give that kind of attention to my feet. I was a little aprehensive when I arrived at the salon for my very first pedicure only to have nothing but females around you. Once the treatment began I felt all this stress just roll right off my shoulders!

A few years back, I was exiting a mall and happend to walk by a nail salon when something caught my eye, it was a guy getting a pedicure! A smile came to my face, it made my day.

 

I'm getting off-topic here, bit another of my great pleasures is massages. I discovered a woman where I go who adds "foot reflexology" to the end of the massage session. It's heavenly! Deep kneading of the soles of my feet! The last time I went in I went barefoot. I figured "what the hell, if I wear flip-flops I'll just kick them off once I'm in the room anyhow." She gave me a nice Swedish massage and did the reflexology. Fantastic!! On my way out she looked down and said "Oh, did you have shoes"? I shook my head no. She just said "Oh, you came barefooted! and she smiled. It was sort-of a cool moment of acceptance!

 

I've never had a crack so deep to merit stitches. I've tried it on a not-so-deep crack, but it didn't work. I ended up settling for super glue.

 

I used to get cracked heels, until I started paring down the hard skin at the first sign of splitting. It's not the thickness of skin on your soles that matters in barefoot comfort, but the tone of the underlying tissues.

I'm not sure about stitching up cracks. This may trap bacteria and start an infection. Better to remove all dead skin around the crack. This may hurt more if you wish to continue barefoot for the next couple of days, but the crack will heal up much quicker.

 

I'm fortunate enough to have heals that tend not to crack, plus I walk on sand every day (helps to abrade hard material) and typically do maintenance (hard scrubbing, lotion) several times a day, so that my soles stay supple and even tiny cracks are healed before they can grow.

 

You can buy a cheap pumice stone and grind off the layers of dead skin after you shower, preventing it from getting thick enough to crack. The professionals use the same thing. For some reason, most drug stores label this product "for women only" as if men don't have heels or something. I guess they assumed I was buying it for my wife.

 

I got rid of my (admittedly minor) cracks with heel repair cream from drugstores/chemists, and prevented their return by keeping them well filed down with a ped-egg.
I tend to walk front first (fox walking) rather than heel-toe, so i don't really need hard heels.

 

superglue has some nasty chemicals in it...

 

The popular surgical adhesive Dermabond used by doctors is actually a less toxic version of super glue. These types of instant glues are indeed in a class of chemicals called cyanoacrylates. However, there's no danger from the cyanide group (CN) that's part of them as long as it's not isolated.

 

Well...I think commercial superglue has acetate in it, which is not supposed to go in the body, ever as far as I know.

 

I actually had a dermatologist suggest the superglue solution. It works, but as I mentioned earlier, I find it dries out the surrounding tissue. Now I just try to protect the area so it can heal properly.

 

that is the straight way to avoid such woes, but once you get the damned crack in my xperience they are tough annoyers and going barefoot on them simply splits the wound open at each step preventing the wound from healing. unfortunately my heel cracks even if thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and filled with streptomycin powder won't heal in the time of one night. sewing provides the way to keep them closed and differently from glue it is easier to open the crack in case you need extra cleaning and disinfecton. i admit that glue is easier to apply, anyway.

 

I rarely get cracked heels, but when I do, I find vaseline total conditioning works best. Use it twice a day for best results.

 

Okay, you might think this is crazy, but it works...

The biggest factor I have with splitting, cracking heels seems to be the buildup of dry, tough, dead skin on my heel. This gets thicker over time and eventually splits, exposing the sensitive skin underneath. The only way I'd found to effectively deal with it was to get a pedicure. The tools the pros have at their disposal seem to be able to remove this crust quite readily. Plus, they have the advantage of being able to get at my heels from angles I can't. The over-the-counter files just haven't worked for me.

This morning, in a moment of "Home Improvement" inspiration, I decided to try something. I got out my vibrating sander (yeah, the kind one uses to sand wood) and decided to give it a try (I wouldn't try this with a belt sander). I put a "fine" piece of sandpaper on it and went out on the back porch. I did this for two reasons: 1) I didn't want all the dust from sanding my heel to get all over the house, and 2) if I'm going to do something crazy, why not share the experience with the neighbors? Anyhow, I turned on the sander, put it on my heel, and much to my relief, I DIDN'T feel a sharp pain of sandpaper exposing tender flesh. Rather, the sander did a nice job of smoothing off the crusty dry skin and left a smooth heel behind. You do need to exercise caution though. I'm sure if you left the sander on one spot very long it would expose the soft flesh underneath and send you running for the antiseptic and gauze, but with the fine sandpaper and a little common sense, the removal seemed to be relatively gentle and effective.

 

This aussie guy takes it to a different level

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv_7fe1y5_8

 

Owww!!! I thought I was crazy using a vibrating sander. "Mick the Grinder" is friggin' insane!! No thanks!! It would have helped to have subtitles for Mick - his is the thickest accent I've ever heard (with the possible exception of Scotland!).

A couple of years ago we stopped in a mall food court. I noticed a guy sitting nearby wearing flip-flops. Eventually he kicked them off and crossed his legs - exposing a thick calloused, gray sole that covered the entire bottom of his foot. Ugghhh, that was nasty. For him a vibrating sander wouldn't have worked. For that matter, I'm not sure Mick the Grinder's orbital sander would have worked. The guy at the food court needed a jackhammer to cut through that hide!!