Callus and Corns

The skin is the largest organ system and his highly active fulfilling many functions. Skin has many layers comprised of three main sections called your epidermis, dermis and epidermal-dermis junction. Your skin is constantly shedding the top layer through a natural cycle of 28-70 days. This cycle however can get disturbed by many factors leading to increased skin build up which we call callus. Callus or hard (dead) skin on the top layer has a different density to the under layer of skin and causes unnatural shearing forces and consequent skin breakages to occur if it is not taken away or reduced. Callus appears as hard, dense, yellowish lesions on the bottom of your feet.

A corn is very similar to callus, however its structure is ‘cone-like’ with a central pin-point making the appearance slightly darker. This centre can often feel like glass pressing in to your skin and is the reason why they are so painful.

It is important to prevent build-up of callus and corns on your feet as this can lead to pain, pressure lesions and even ulcerations and wounds. Regular emollient (moisturiser) is recommended daily to soften the hard skin and reduce shearing forces. A foot file may also help by gently filing the callus before you shower. Care must be taken not to remove too much skin and risk cutting into the dermal layer of skin or inflaming the skin.

It is recommended that you have a check-up with our podiatrist before treating callus build up yourself particularly if you have diabetes. Our podiatrist can not only safely remove the callus through debridement but can assess the underlying cause of the callus build up and potentially prevent it from recurring or coming back as quickly.

So call now to make an appointment on 9596 8418 or visit our new patient offer click here.