Home Treatment and Prevention for Bunions and Hammertoes

The swelling of the joint at the base of the toe is commonly referred to as a bunion. While the permanent upward bending of the toe (usually at the middle joint) is called a hammertoe. These problems are oftentimes hereditary or run in families. Both of these conditions though can be irritating when one is wearing shoes that are too short or too narrow.

The most common prevention of these problems is to wear shoes with no heels (or a low heel). Also, make sure that the shoe you are wearing has plenty of room for your toes. Doctors recommend that the uses of tennis or basketball court shoes are often the best for persons who had a family history of this illness. Ensure that the shoes fit properly to you feet as tight or high-heeled shoes increase the risk of bunion and hammertoe. It also increases the chance of irritation if bunion and hammertoe are already present.

Once a person already had bunion and hammertoe, there is no way to completely get rid of it as it can only be corrected through surgery. These simple home treatments can only help to keep it from getting worse.

1. Wearing no or low high heels with a roomy toe box and ensuring that the shoe will have a good arch support.

2. A mole skin and donut-shaped pads can be use as a cushion for your bunion and hammertoe to prevent them from rubbing and irritation.

3. If you wear shoes on the house, simply cut out the area over the bunion or hammertoe from an old pair of shoes so that you will be comfortable with it. Or much better simply wear comfortable sandals that don’t press the area.

4. If pain is felt, you can take and aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen to relieve pain. Sometimes the use of ice or cold packs may also helps in relieving the pain.

When to seek for medical help?

1. If you have not been diagnose with gout and you felt a severe pain in the big toe which come one suddenly.

2. If the severe pain is already interfering your daily activities specially during walking.

3. If you noticed that the big toe is already beginning to overlap the second toe.

4. People who had been diagnosed with diabetes, poor circulation, or peripheral vascular disease are prone to skin irritation thus a bunion or hammertoe can easily become infected in people who had these kinds of conditions.

5. If the pain doesn’t get well despite the home treatment for a period of two to three weeks.

 For further reading, please visit these sites:

http://orthopedics.about.com/od/toeproblems/tp/bunions.htm

http://www.orthospecmd.com/Bunions.html

Note: orriginally posted at triond.com under the same author.

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