Know Your Health With Your Feet

Believe it or not, your feet are a good barometer of your overall health. From a pesky foot pain to more serious symptoms like numbness, your feet often show symptoms of disease before any other part of your body.

1. No Hair
“Bald” feet can be a sign of poor circulation as a result of vascular disease. What can you do? Although the hair may never return (which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing!), you’ll want to see a doctor about improving your circulation and getting your vascular health in check.

2. Cold Feet
For women, cold feet may indicate an “underfunctioning” thyroid problem, which is the gland that regulates temperature and metabolism. Poor circulation is another possible cause for both men and women.

The solution: Aside from potential thyroid medications, there’s not much you can do other than bundle up your feet in thick wool socks and slippers to keep warm.

3. Yellow Toe Nails
If one or more of your toenails starts to thicken, change color, and separate from the skin, it probably means you have a fungal infection living beneath the toenail. People with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other immune deficiencies may be more susceptible than others in contracting toenail fungus.The solution: See a podiatrist or internist for care and treatment.

4. Pain in Heels
A shooting pain in your heel may be a sign of plantar fasciitis, which means the band of connective tissue running along the bottom of your foot is inflamed. The pain is usually concentrated in the heel and gets worse throughout the day.

5. Sore Joints
Sore toe joints may be a sign of the degenerative joint disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA typically attacks smaller joints first - like joints in the wrist and toes, so pay attention if you have a persistent achy feeling or swelling.