Men With Sore, Dry Heels: Keep Your Feet Moisturized With These Tips

If your heels stay dry and sore no matter what you do, you need real solutions to your problems fast. Dry, cracked and sore heels can leave your body open to infections, such as bacteria and fungi. If you wear footwear that covers your feet completely, protecting your heels is critical. Full-covered shoes and boots can make your symptoms worse. Here are helpful tips you can use that moisturize and protect your feet and not just your dry heels.

Why Moisturize Your Feet?

Although most moisturizers are usually marketed to women, men can also benefit from using them. Moisturizing the skin on your feet, ankles and heels each night can help alleviate the dryness in them. But you must choose a moisturizer that heals your feet as well, such as vitamin E oil. 

Vitamin E contains properties that repairs damage to your cells. The vitamin also fights bacteria and other germs that affect your immune system, which is very important if your heels develop open sores that become easily infected by bacteria. Although you can eat foods that contain vitamin E to stay healthy, applying vitamin E oil directly to your skin may be the fastest way to heal your feet.

You can also use plain oatmeal and lavender oil to soften up and moisturize your feet. Oatmeal exfoliates the flaky skin from your feet and lavender treats bacteria and fungi.

How Do You Hydrate Your Feet?

Once you purchase the items you need, follow the instructions below:

1. Fill a foot tub with warm water and 2 drops of lavender essential oil. Use your fingertips to swirl the oil around in the water.
2. Soak your feet for 10 minutes, then remove them. Gently pat your feet dry with a soft cloth. Be sure to remove the water from between your toes to avoid attracting fungi and bacteria.
3. Place a generous amount of vitamin E oil in the palms of both hands. 
4. Massage the oil into your heels, ankles, soles of your feet, and between your toes. Use your thumbs to rub the oil into your toenails.
5. Wait 10 minutes for the oil to absorb in your feet, then place a thin pair of cotton socks on your feet to keep them moisturized during the night. 

Perform the moisturizing steps above every night for the best results. Also, contact an orthopedist for custom orthotics for dry heels to wear during the day. The orthotics cup your heels and the backs of your ankles, which alleviates the stress and friction caused on your feet when you walk in full-covered footwear. 

It's a good idea that you see an orthopedist about custom heel orthotics as soon as possible. Although the moisturizing technique above helps alleviate your dry, sore foot skin now, you may have other issues with your feet that need medical treatment.