Cracked heels or heel fissures are a common beauty problem caused by excessively dry skin which leads to abnormal thickening of the skin around the heels leading to heel fissures.  Winter, wearing high heel or shoes with open backs, walking bare feet, diabetes, hypothyroidism and obesity increase the problem. Ayurveda terms such skin problems as Shodra Roga or easily curable. It explains this as a predominantly Vata problem which gets aggravated due to lack of proper diet and lifestyle knowledge. Small cracks in the heel and feet increase to become deeper fissures in winter.

Dietary and Lifestyle Recommendations:

• Avoid thin soled shoes or footwear and open backed shoes.
• Use pumice stone bars to remove thick, dead skin of heels.
• Apply medicated herbal balm which keeps the skin of heels soft and closes fissures.
• Liberal application of herbal moisturizing lotion keeps your feet soft and attractive.
• The skin of feet lacks oil glands. Hence apply herbal moisturizing lotion before going to bed and put on cotton socks. This tip helps to maintain the softness of skin of heels.
• Reduce body weight and do not stand for a long time.
• Never cut hard edges of fissures with blade, scissors or razor.
• Diabetic patients should immediately consult their physician if the fissures persist for a long time and show colour changes.
• A regular foot bath and foot massage helps to keep the skin on heels healthy and soft.

Ayurvedic home remedies you can try:

• Burn the outer skin of a ripe banana and applying the ashes to the cracks in your foot.
• Crush an onion and apply it to the cracks on your feet followed by bandaging.
• Blend glycerine and rose water and apply on cracked feet to soothe and heal the fissures.
• Mix one-fourth lime juices, one-fourth cup milk, one-fourth cup water, 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of cinnamon. Pour the mixture in to a basin and soak feet in it. This alleviates dryness, softens feet and heals the cracks.
• Add chopped parsley to your foot bath and soak feet. This kills bacteria, improves blood circulation and cures cracked feet.
• Boil some water. Allow it to cool. Pour it in to a basin and put few drops of peppermint oil, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lemon oil in to it. Soak your feet in the solution. It is highly relaxing, sufficiently moisturizes feet and combats fungal infection.
• Boil 5 litters of water and let it cool down. Add 2-3 drops of lavender oil and a cup of Epsom salt to the water and soak feet in it. This softens feet and helps to get rid of the cracks.
• Blend melted paraffin and mustard oil and apply on feet. This is an effective home remedy for cracked feet.
• Soak your feet in the water in which rice has been cooked, add 1 teaspoon baking soda. This relieves cracked feet condition.
• Scrape feet with pumice stone. This removes scales, exfoliates feet, making them soft and supple.

Treatment in Ayurveda:
Initial stages cleaning with Ayurvedic herbs and applying herbal foot creams give complete cure
In chronic cases Sarva Kaya Abhyanga, Pada Abhyanga, Pizhichil, Virechan and Yogic exercises along with preparations for internal and external are used.
Consult a qualified Ayurvedic doctor to get a complete and proper solution.

Note: Treatments mentioned here should be done only under the supervision of qualified Ayurvedic doctor

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