What to do if your shoes rub?

Calluses and corns are companions of the beginning of the spring-summer season. Sometimes it seems that the foot, unaccustomed to shoes without a top, simply refuses to be in sneakers, boots and shoes. What to do in this case and how to live a normal life if the entire foot is covered with microtraumas? You will find effective recommendations on the topic in this article.

Why do shoes rub?

Understanding the root cause is useful because it helps to avoid a repetition of the unpleasant plot in the future. The main reasons for the appearance of chafing:

• rigidity of shoe parts;
• characteristics of the material from which the pair is sewn (poor stretch, rough, hard);
• small shoe size;
• large shoe size;
• unprepared feet for the transition from boots to shoes;
• incorrectly selected pair for lifting;
• structural features of the leg (protruding bones, unusually shaped heels, flat feet);
• profuse sweating (we are talking about the legs);
• the shoes simply do not fit the design (for example, their sides are too high).

Trouble can also arise due to lack of habit. For example, this happens when you first become acquainted with wicker sandals and flip-flops, in which the connecting strap passes between the big and index toe. The skin simply had not previously felt the characteristic pressure in the indicated area, therefore it was not ready for it and reacted to it as best it could.

Another way to “get” a callus is to engage in rare physical activity, walking all day. The skin of the feet, unprepared for stress, will react extremely sharply to such an out-of-the-ordinary event.

How to prevent problem areas from appearing?

Prevention is the best medicine. The measures taken within its framework affect both feet and shoes. Choose one of the methods presented for the legs and shoes and repeat many times, unless the instructions say otherwise.

Before the start of the season you need...

Feet are more comfortable in boots due to their design features. Boots, shoes and sandals are held in place by applying pressure to certain points. The places that apply pressure - the heel, toe, vamp, strap - are the ones that rub most often. Therefore, be sure to pay due attention to the areas of the body that come into contact with these parts of the shoe.

To prepare your feet for the summer-spring season after “resting” in boots, treat yourself baths with the following components (choose one):

• chamomile (hold for 20 minutes);
• calendula (hold for 30 minutes);
• oatmeal (0.5 liters per basin of water, you can add a spoonful of pine needles);
• heated milk (liter per 3 liters of water, keep for half an hour);
• aroma oils (2 drops each of tea tree and bergamot, 3 drops of lavender, 10–15 ml of bath foam, 3 liters of water, a little cream; hold for 15–20 minutes).

After the bath you need to foot treatment: remove roughness (do not overdo it, because wounds will easily appear at the site of damage in the future), tidy up your nails, massage using sunflower oil or a specialized cream. Upon completion of the manipulations, raise your legs up (put them on some elevation) and stay in this position for some time.

Specified activities should not be one-time in nature. You need to act systematically and for at least a week, and preferably 2-3 weeks. If you do this, you will not only prepare your legs for the season, but you will also be able to reduce the severity of swelling and also tidy up your lymphatic system.

What remedies help?

Panthenol, baby cream, Bepanten, which are sold in pharmacies - excellent solutions for softening and preparing feet for the season of shoes, sandals. You can use them for a while or use them shortly before trying on new shoes. Shortly in this context is the time required for complete absorption.

Don't forget about adhesive plaster. Do not ignore its preventive properties and protective functions: apply it before putting on problematic shoes or sneakers, and not after damage appears.

What can you do with shoes?

Recommendations for folk and home use:

1. Vodka or alcohol, rubbing. Moisten the swab and wipe the inside of the shoe. Pay close attention to problem areas - the heel, vamp. At the end of the procedure, put on a pair and walk in it without taking it off for 1-2 hours. If necessary, repeat the manipulation the next day, but do not get carried away too much. Alcohol may discolor the material. Therefore, before using the product for the first time, perform a test on an inconspicuous part of the shoe.
2. Castor oil.They have a softening effect and have a positive effect on both shoes and skin. To achieve the goal, you just need to wipe the inside of your sneakers or shoes several times.
3. Vodka or alcohol, kneading. A method similar to the previous option, the only difference is that after processing the shoes or boots will need to be rinsed with your fingers. A solution for those who purchased a pair with very hard walls that cut into the leg.
4. Hammer. Wet the gauze, wring it out lightly and spread it over the shoes. Take a hammer in your hands and use it to beat off all the problem areas. After double exposure to the tool and water, they will become softer.
5. Newspapers. Wet newspapers and fill the entire inner cavity of the rubbing shoe with it. Leave it like this overnight, take it out in the morning and try it on. The method is good, but you need to remember that letters from newspaper sheets can be imprinted on light skin. In addition, you need to ensure that shoes filled with wet pages do not end up in a draft or near heating devices.
6. A bag of water and a refrigerator. Fill a heavy-duty bag with water (not all the way), tie it, and check that the knot or latch is tight. Once you are sure of this, place the bag in the rubbing steam and place them in the freezer. The benefit of the method is based on the expanding effect of water when it hardens. The liquid will freeze and put pressure on the walls, which will expand the internal space of the boots or shoes.
7. Sunflower oil. A solution for those whose shoes have become rough after spending the winter in the closet. You need to treat the surface of the pair, and then knead it with your fingers.
8. Beer. The method is primarily intended for suede shoes. It is rubbed with an alcoholic drink, after which it is pressed with fingers and worn.

If the material of the product or its finishing does not tolerate direct contact with liquids at all, then give it a “bath”. Wrap the new pair box on all sides with a damp towel and leave it like that overnight. By morning, the cardboard will become unusable, but the shoes will become less rough and fit better on your feet.

Special means

Folk wisdom is good, but the scientific approach is distinguished by its quick effect and safety. In a shoe store you can find:

• sprays that help shoes wear out;
• protective strips for legs;
• anti-slip insoles and inserts.

The first remedy is suitable for those who bought narrow shoes in the hope of breaking them in. You can enhance the effect of the product by preheating the inner cavity of the shoe. (heat with a hairdryer and then spray with spray). After application, immediately put on your shoes and walk around the house in them a little.

Important! The spray is not designed for single use, that is, the effect of using the spray becomes noticeable 2-4 times.

Protective strips are applied to areas that may rub. Usually this is the heel, the outer side of the thumb and little finger, the top line of the vamp. When choosing where to apply the stripes, take into account your personal experience (remember where you usually get calluses) and the design of a particular pair (woven sandals often rub on the front, and flip-flops rub between the big and index toes).

Important! To speed up the break-in process, wear a new pair over thick socks. They will allow you to quickly soften the walls and increase the internal space of the shoe, but the goal will be achieved at the expense of discomfort and, possibly, even chafing.

Anti-slip insoles, in turn, will help those who, in the hope of avoiding calluses and discomfort from wearing high-heeled shoes, purchased shoes or sandals 0.5-1 size too large. You can’t do without them even if your foot sweats a lot, causing it to slip on the insole and get injured on the walls of the shoe.

The pharmacy sells another interesting remedy against calluses - anti-callus pencil. This is a very compact solid preparation for external use. Contains nourishing, softening, and sometimes antiseptic components. It applies easily, leaves no marks even on velvety shoes, and does not smell.

Important! Pencils from the Medifit and Compeed brands have proven themselves to be the best.

Some medications in this group are suitable not only for the prevention of callous formations, but also for their treatment. However, most of them still have a narrow purpose and should not be used on damaged tissue.

What to do if the shoes have already rubbed?

First you need disinfect and dry the wound a little. For this purpose, hydrogen peroxide, brilliant green, iodine or furatsilin are used. You can also resort to a weak solution of potassium permanganate (the color should be soft pink, unsaturated). Sometimes chamomile infusion, sea buckthorn oil, and certified calendula leaves are used as a healing and soothing agent (brew for 20 minutes).

Important! Herbs are used in many ways. Some people wipe the wound with tinctures, others take baths (15 minutes, provided that an allergy to herbal medicine has never manifested itself before).

If the callus has not burst, but is very swollen, then it is better to pierce it. The puncture is performed with a carefully processed needle (it is better to take a new one, enclosed in a sterile syringe package).After damage to the formation, the exudate should be removed from it, and then it will be possible to neutralize and dry the wound.

It is not recommended to seal the damage immediately after treatment. It is necessary to ensure a flow of air to the burst callus, due to this the recovery period will proceed faster and the likelihood that the rubbed area will begin to get wet during healing will be reduced.

Only after 2–3 hours from the moment of disinfection can the wound be treated with a caring healing agent. Recommended ointments and sprays for use:

• Panthenol, D-panthenol, Panthenol-Teva (available in the form of ointment and spray);
• Rescuer (balm and ointment);
• Levomekol (ointment);
• Solcoseryl (a whole series of drugs in the form of a spray, disinfectant liquid and ointment);
• Bepanten (gel and ointment);
• Methirulating ointment.

Important! Panthenol and Bepanten can be safely used on children's skin.

Some ointments leave the wound open, while others require a bandage or plaster. The product itself is used spot-on; there is no need to rub it into the rubbed area.

If trouble with new or uncomfortable shoes catches you on the road, then special napkins (buy them in advance at the pharmacy) or anti-corn medication (for example, Lapis Pencil) will come to the rescue.. As a last resort, you can resort to plantain and boiled egg. Traditional medicine says that the first one is kept on the foot until signs of drying out of the leaf appear, and with the help of the second one makes medicinal applications: separate the film from the wall of the shell, apply it over the callus, and fix it with a plaster. The “bandage” is removed after 4–6 hours. After removing it, the rubbed area will need to be disinfected.

What can I do to prevent purchased shoes from rubbing against calluses?

To begin with, it is worth understanding that miracles do not happen: shoes are worn only in width, but not in length. Therefore if the problem lies not so much in the narrowness of the pair, but in the inappropriate size, then you won’t be able to separate it even if you alternately resort to all the existing life hacks on the topic. If the discomfort is caused precisely by hard walls, then try one of the softening methods outlined below.

How to distribute it?

You can often hear recommendations to “take a new pair by storm”, that is, wear it at home on the weekend and not take it off all day, or at least the evening. In fact, prolonged wear will not lead to anything good. You need to break in your shoes gradually, 2 hours at a time over several days.. It is also very important to properly prepare for the first time putting it on.

To ensure everything goes smoothly, apply adhesive tape to all sensitive areas of the skin. It’s easy to identify them; you just need to remember the places where calluses most often appear. Typically this is the heel, the area above it (the point where the heel ends), the big toe and the little toe. It will be useful to take into account the design features of a particular pair. If, for example, she walks with her nose open, then tape the tips of her fingers.

When using the shoes for the first time put something nylon on your feet – socks or tights. The material has a tightening property, “picks up” the foot, and it feels easier in the very limited space of the shoes.

Important! As you wear them out, you can discard the tights, but this will not happen on the first or even the second day of wear.

After walking around in your shoes for a while, take them off until tomorrow and carefully examine your feet. Their condition will tell you where tomorrow you will need to stick the adhesive plaster. If after several fittings the matter still does not move forward, then lubricate all problem areas with soap or a candle (do this for several days in a row). In addition to home remedies for stretching shoes, there are also store-bought ones (look for them in shoe departments).

Don’t despair if all attempts at spreading have ended in failure and even the use of additional means did not help. Take the problem pair, take it to a repair shop and ask a specialist to widen the shoes that are too narrow.

How to choose the right shoes to avoid blisters later?

Recommendations to help avoid trouble with calluses:

1. Walk in shoe shoes in the afternoon. At this time of day, the typical changes in your legs are already making themselves felt, be it swelling or pain.
2. Adequately assess your capabilities and health. If your feet swell and become very tired in the evening, then you should not choose narrowed models with maximum heels. If the instep is high, then the shoes, which end at the top almost immediately after the toes, will rub.
3. Buy shoes that fit.
4. Always try on shoes before purchasing. Don’t just put your foot in the shoe, but also trample in it, walk around and try to take it off and put it on several times. Sports sneakers and sneakers are additionally checked for the flexibility of the sole (stand on the toe, and then transfer the weight to the heel, then to the left, and then to the right edge).
5. During fitting listen to your feelings. Don’t believe that a particular pair will stretch significantly, but you yourself will put on nylon tights and due to them, the size of your legs will mystically decrease by 1-1.5.
6. Genuine leather and suede stretch, but there is no point in relying on this quality.In the best case, the pair will fit a little more loosely on the leg, its width will increase slightly, but the length will remain the same. The maximum you can gain is 0.5 sizes. Wherein artificial materials wear out even worse. Instead, they just tear.
7. Don't buy a pair to grow into. A foot that is poorly secured and sliding on the insole will chafe almost faster than a foot that is tightly squeezed by the walls of the shoe. If you couldn’t resist and purchased excessively large shoes, you can get around the problem using double-sided tape. They literally glue the foot to the shoes or sandals.