Find Home Remedies for Common Foot Problems

Find Home Remedies for Common Foot Problems
Page content

Home Remedies for Common Foot Problems

Feet (image in the public domain)

Aching Feet

• Add one of the following ingredients to a basin of warm to hot water and soak your aching feet for 15 minutes: 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 2 strong cups of chamomile or peppermint tea, or 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt. For extra relief, massage your feet thoroughly with lemon juice immediately after soaking, rinse your feet with cool water, and dry.

• Boil a large turnip until it is soft, mash it, spread it on two handkerchiefs and apply one to each foot. Sit back with your aching feet elevated for 30 minutes.

• For a mini-massage, roll the bottom of your foot over a tennis ball, rolling pin, or a frozen water bottle for a couple of minutes.

Corns and Calluses

• After a warm bath, shower, or foot soaking, gently file away the tough skin of your corn or callus with a pumice stone or (emery board).

• Before going to bed, apply one of the following to your corn or callus and leave it on during the night (use a Band-Aid, a strip of tape, or a plastic wrap to hold it in place - it is also a good idea to wear a sock):

  • a slice of onion that was soaked in vinegar for 4 hours
  • a piece of fresh lemon or pineapple peel (inside of the peel touching your corn or callus)
  • a moist tea bag
  • pure papaya juice (on a cotton ball) or a piece of papaya pulp
  • a paste made of 1 teaspoon of brewers yeast and a few drops of lemon juice.

When you get up in the morning, gently file your corn or callus.

• Apply castor oil or olive oil to soften these common foot problems.

Cold Feet

• Warm your cold feet by sprinkling some black pepper or cayenne pepper into your socks before putting them on (an old skiers trick). You can also rub it directly on the soles. Note: Cayenne pepper will turn your feet and socks red.

• Add 1/2 cup of table salt to a basin of warm water, soak your feet for 15 minutes, dry, and massage them with damp salt. This will stimulate circulation.

• Stand on your toes for a couple of minutes then come back down on your heels. Repeat several times. This will also help increase blood circulation in cold feet.

Sweaty Feet

• Add 10 drops of tea tree oil to a basin of warm water and soak your feet for 15 minutes daily.

• You can also treat sweaty feet by placing 1 tablespoon of bran or uncooked oat flakes into your socks. This will help absorb sweat.

More common foot problems…

Athlete’s Foot

• Expose your feet to sunlight at least 1 hour a day. Natural sunlight kills the fungus that causes athlete’s foot.

• At night, apply rubbing alcohol to your feet (it may sting for the first couple of seconds). After your feet dry on their own, sprinkle on some unscented talcum powder.

• Crush a garlic clove, apply it to the affected area, leave it on for 30 minutes, then wash with water. Do this once a day. Note: Garlic does cause a warm sensation but if it starts to burn, wash it off. Try again the next day but instead of applying garlic directly to the skin, dilute garlic juice with water and apply.

• Ginger has anti-fungal properties and is good for relieving the burning and itching from athlete’s foot. Prepare ginger tea, let it cool, and soak your feet for 15 minutes 2 times a day.

Toenail Fungus

• Put 1 inch of cornmeal (white or yellow) in a basin. Add just enough warm water to cover it and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then add enough warm water in the basin to cover your feet. Soak for 1 hour once a week. It may take about a year for you to see results but it is a cheaper and safer treatment for toenail fungus than medications.

Disclaimer

Please read this disclaimer regarding the information contained within this article.