randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
i am using everything i can get my hands on from vaseline to aveeno, to ponds, anything....
my heels have deep cracks and i actually stick on the carpet when i walk. it's like you took a knife and dug grooves in my heels and tried to peel the skin off....
plus they are dark, dark red...
yep, they burn at night too.
everything is so oiley, i can't put it on without having to sit for a couple of hours until it soaks in and it gets all over the sheets if i put it on before bedtime.
what do you use??
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Have you tried treating from the inside out? Flax seed oil (about 9-12 capsules) can help.
Posts: 984 | From San Diego | Registered: Nov 2006
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posted
I just starting having this same problem for the first time in my life. I wonder if it's lyme-related?
I've been putting lots of lotion on my feet and then wearing white cotton socks to bed so it keeps my feet moist instead of the sheets. I do it a couple of times a week and it seems to help.
Posts: 345 | From East Coast | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
Do you wear flip-flops or open sandals? I wear flip-flops year-round (thank you mild California climate), but I notice that it exacerbates the problem of cracked heels. Wearing socks all day long helps.
One of the interesting things mentioned on this link is thyroid problems causing very dry skin. Not sure if that's the case for you, but it's something to think about.
Posts: 67 | From SF Bay Area | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
i had the same thing because i used to spend a lot of time in water, in wetsuit booties. and also wearing flipflops and/or bear feet all the time..
two things helped-
taking care of some internal fungi. i drank pau d'arco tea every day. ate garlic raw. and, if ou have any funky toenails, put tea tree oil on them.
and, yes...
the ped egg.
my heels are so smooth and soft.
no, i am not a spokesperson. i cannot even believe i have used one, after making fun of that commercial for so long. my fiancee got me one (yes she was sick of my "hippy heels") and it worked better than anything i ever tried before.
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
yep, tried that egg. it gets stuck on the pieces of skin and pulls on them and hurts.
i mean, these are like little open cuts, they're so bad.
i usually go barefoot in the house but not anymore....
i'm currently use neosporin because i'm afraid of infection.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I recommend rubbing Venex ointment on the bottom of your feet. It's bee venom ointment and has helped me a lot. I use it all over, but started w/the feet. I'm certain it's Lyme related. Did the bottoms of your feet ever hurt? Mine did, & I never really connected it until I used the Venex. I herxed after just putting it on the bottom of my feet.
If you're allergic to bee stings, you can't use it, but if you're not, you should try it. I get it at:
By the way, at the LDA conference in SF, Dr. Steven Barthold (veterinarian) from UCI spoke and said that his research shows that Bb is found in the biggest quantity in the skin. This supports what I've believed for a long time, and supports the idea that topicals can be effective in helping kill Bb.
Posts: 975 | From California | Registered: Apr 2007
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
rats....allergic big time...
i get red streaks, shortness of breath and can't breathe, swelling, dizziness and have to have benadyrl...
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
Dr. Oz did a show on beauty the other day on Oprah. If I had more energy and a life I would not have been watching.
They said for cracked heals (probably not for deep open cracks) before bed use Stridex on them followed by coco butter and then put on socks to sleep in and hold the moisture in. They claim this really works.
I wonder if one has fungus - I think cracked heals can sometimes be fungus if maybe the Stridex puts a dent in the fungus?
I do know that if you start to get fungus under your toe nails that tea tree oil applied under the nail with a dropper twice a day will help it go away. A MD taught me that trick.
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
stridex? wouldn't that stuff burn? i remember using it on my face a long time ago and it burned then....
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
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posted
This may not be the case for everyone, but my husband had horrible, cracked heals for YEARS (since he was a young person). It took two years of lyme treatment, but all of a sudden- WOW- he had the feet of an infant (and still does).
They are smooth and silky...weird, I know but maybe it's lyme or some other tagalong bug.
Posts: 554 | From Naples, Italy | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
randibear, I'm also started using metronidazole (Flagyl) cream recently to cover the cyst aspect. I don't know if it would have the same effect as the Venex, but it has made me herx as well. The generic is quite reasonable in cost.
Or you can try rubbing ozonated olive oil on it. There are other antibiotic creams/gels available that you'd need a prescription for that you could try, like clindamycin, erythromycin, and sulfur cream.
Ozonated olive oil would be good for you to try, though. That also made me herx and it doesn't required a prescription.
Posts: 975 | From California | Registered: Apr 2007
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sometimesdilly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9982
posted
maybe try slathering on aquafore then put on socks.. the stuff is amazing....
Posts: 2507 | From lost in the maze | Registered: Aug 2006
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mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
I used to have this problem. Now I never go barefoot - especially on concrete as it soaks up all moisture.
I put Eucerin cream (not lotion) or Nivea cream (not lotion) on my feet at night and wear socks to bed. I used to do this almost every night and now I only need to do it twice per week.
No cracks at all anymore.
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
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lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
I just heard about teh Stridex idea a few days ago. Apparently it's the active ingredient in Stridex, salicylic acid, that helps.
The person sharing this with me suggested using another product with the same active ingredient and then adding a rich emollient cream before putting on socks.
She suggested doing it before bed. Said it helped her very quickly, although she doesn't have Lyme.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
I have this problem too, especially in the summer when I wear sandals day and night. As someone mentioned, wearing shoes and socks helps a lot. That's much easier when the weather is cold.
One thing I have been doing is using a pumice stone on my feet. I have a little block of pumice on a handle (the shape of a small hairbrush). I moisten it and gently rub it across my heels in the shower. Not as harsh as one of those ceramic or metal files.
I have a cocoa butter stick that I keep in my nightstand. When winter arrives I rub that across my heels at bedtime and put on bed socks.
Moisturizing from the inside with fish, flax, or borage oils is good too, and drinking plenty of water.
I remember one of my doctors telling me that Vitamin A is good for moisturizing skin (not sure of the mechanism, though). He also wanted me to take it to help some other conditions, so I've been doing that since last winter, I think.
My skin is normally extremely dry. So far this year my skin is not as dry (legs, arms, face, and feet) and I don't have the deep cracks developing in my heels, even though we've been having cold weather for about 6 weeks. I've been using the pumice stick for probably about that long, too.
Nutmeg
Posts: 386 | From WA state | Registered: May 2005
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Alv
Unregistered
posted
YES , it is fungus.
I just came out of sauna and the last few days my heels were cracking exactly as you randibear. I was shocked today when I saw them in sauna.JUST covered them with cocconat butter and wore socks.
I never walk barefoot.THIS IS FUNGY and CANDIDA issues..internaly and now it shows up in the skin ...I have test that show that I have systemic candia and fungus.
posted
my guess is this problem (with the severity you are describing) is fungal/yeast related
-------------------- "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - e.m. forster Posts: 921 | From PA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
i also think it can be caused by a systemic fungus (and of course, flipflops but i am not giving them up).
buy pau d'arco bark in bulk at a health food store, and drink tea. i think you need to take time off of it, though, after a certain amount of time using it.
garlic and grapefruit seed extract can also help a lot.
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
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Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
Like CD57 above, I was told by a CFS doctor that it's thyroid. I've had thyroid disease long before Lyme, that continues to go hypo with Lyme and antibiotics, no matter what we try.
I use Shea Butter on my heels every night, or sometimes Eucirin cream, with socks. But it's only a temporary improvement.
A dermatologist had me use a lotion a long time ago that has AHA (alpha-hydroxy) acids in it, and that helped a little, but again, only temporary.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
ok, here's what i did. goggled like crazy and found this stuff. it's called "callex" and it's sold at walgreen's. not cheap, but my feet at worth 15 bucks....
comes in a medium size jar and apply in the morning adn night.
i used it yesterday and i can already tell a difference. the heel itself is much smoother and the deep cracks are not as red.
i am wearing socks all the time now and even at night after i put the cream on.
sure seems to be working.
am back on diflucan, 75 per day for two weeks.
hope this all helps. the cream sure seems to.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Alv
Unregistered
posted
I tried coconat butter and wore socks as always and they were softer , used it again ..and will see.
It address candida also and I do not want to put chemicals in my body if it is not natural..ingreidients.
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mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
I'll bet it can be caused by several issues.
I wonder if mine was Thyroid related because I never get the cracks anymore and they used to be very bad and it's not bad at all now that I'm on Armour. I only do the cream at night once or twice a week.
My skin on the bottom of me feet used to peel sometimes, too, and that hurt!
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
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posted
randibear, I don't know about deep cracks in heels, but if it doesn't hurt, you might try those little fine sandpaper paddles they sell at beauty supply places. But - go to a foot doctor FIRST and see what he says; I am sure he can help you. Wearing socks all the time is really important. Sure hope this helps!
Posts: 97 | From Great Lakes state | Registered: Jul 2008
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gemofnj
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15551
posted
My husband has terrible cracked and dry feet. I call them lobster claws!
His dermotologist recommended he get "Lotrimin" creme at the drug store. (OTC) He said it was a fungus.
Within a month of putting it on every morning and night his feet were baby smooth!!
No more lobster claws!
Posts: 1127 | From atlantic city, nj | Registered: May 2008
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posted
I have the problem- bad cracked heals. None of the creams really work. They help, but dont resolve the problem. Will try that stuff on the post above.
I thought it was lyme related, because I never had it before.
-------------------- Positive 10 bands WB IGG & IGM + Babesia + Bartonolla and NOW RMSF 3/5/09 all at Quest
posted
My sister (now deceased) also had the dry cracked feet, and hands, they would crack to the point of bleeding.
This was from early childhood, and thought to be a part of excema, which she had pretty bad. The ony thing which corrected it for her was moving to a dry heat climate (desert in california).
Cortizone, eucerin, nothing worked but a change in climate.
My son also has excema, but responds well to eucerin cream. I have dry cracked hands, which don't seem to respond to much of anything, although admittedly I'm not that good about putting on the lotion, and always seem to be washing dishes, which aggrevates it.
I hope you were able to find something that works randibear, as I know how painful this can be! kp
Posts: 394 | From tinton falls nj | Registered: Jul 2007
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groovy2
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6304
posted
Hi All--
This is what I did --
I got some cream called Wart Stick-- comes in a tube similar to chap stick-
The active ingredient is Salicylic Acid-40%
Put this cream on the areas where the skin is cracked -calised (Dead) -
Apply this cream Every Night for a week- wear shocks --
Dont Pick and the skin - just rub the cream in--
After doing this Daily for a week -
Soak your feet win warm for half a hour or so --
Now pick at the skin and if you do it right - Perty much the Whole layer of dead skin will peel off -
Dose NOT Hurt at all --
You may have to do this treatment a couple of times to get all of the dead skin off -
-Just depends how bad your feet are-
It takes 2 tubes for a one week treatment-
When you are finished your feet will be Nice and pink Like Normal feet should look--
Walmart - Walgreens - Ebay
Lots of toxins are released threw the skin on your feet -- Jay--
Posts: 2999 | From Austin tx USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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2roads
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4409
posted
I have the same problem.
I went to a Podiatrist. he gave me the salicllic acid and antifungal cream. I did it for 3 weeks and buffed. It became nice....for all of 3 days and then back with a vengance.
I am so embarrased by it. Funny, but it is only on one foot.
It's so bad I'm putting wholes in my sock from the dry area rubbing the sock against the rug.
rrrrrrr Posts: 2214 | From West Chester, PA | Registered: Aug 2003
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lymeparfait
Unregistered
posted
Mine have gotten noticeably better after taking Fish Oil in the am and before bed. All of my skin is softer.
Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Hubby's were just the grossest thing I'd ever seen, he just bought the Ped Egg and it worked like a charm. I am shocked at the difference, all nice soft skin now. All the cracks and yucky thick skin are gone. And I'm telling you, they were BAD.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Kid you not-treating lyme cured my husband's feet issues that he had since he was a kid. This was without any antifungal medication just abx........weird, but true.
I know the problems (both toes and heels) were fungal, but it seems getting the lyme under control also allowed my husband to somehow get the fungus under control .....and who says lyme ain't immuno-suppressive!
Posts: 554 | From Naples, Italy | Registered: Jun 2006
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