Chiropody is a treatment performed by a podiatrist, which consists in the removal of corns and toenail problems. Its main objective is to prevent these small injuries from increasing in severity over time and/or developing into something much more serious.
In addition, the specialist in Podiatry will perform a more thorough examination to detect possible diseases such as fungus or papillomas.
When should it be done?
It is important to visit the podiatrist at least once a year. In this way, we perform a complete review of our feet, detecting any abnormality in time and thus diagnosing the possible causes that produce it.
It is always necessary to visit the podiatrist if we detect in our feet some of the symptoms that chiropody treats, since they are very visible and, in some occasions, painful. Therefore, if you have any of the problems (corns, calluses, hardness, nail disorders, etc.) you should go to a licensed podiatrist and avoid future problems.
What does chiropody consist of?
Chiropody consists of two parts. First, the podiatrist will perform a thorough examination to identify possible diseases such as fungus, papillomas… Secondly, and after the examination and the diagnosis made by the specialist, the most common treatments that can be performed are:
- Delamination of hyperkeratosis: elimination of hardness generated in the foot.
- Treatment of helomas (corns): removal of the inert tissue of the foot.
- Cutting and milling of nails: treatment for the different alterations and / or conditions of the nails.
How often is it necessary to perform it?
Adults are the ones who most often require chiropody, but it can be practiced on people of any age, although it is very rare for a child to need it. It is advisable to visit the podiatrist once a year, who will indicate if the procedure is necessary or not and its periodicity.
It is not necessary to have your feet in a mess to perform this procedure. There are alterations that go unnoticed and are much more treatable if an early diagnosis is made. As I have already pointed out, any type of alteration in the feet, such as corns, calluses, calluses, deformed nails or pain, can lead to more serious problems. The key word here would be prevention.
Also, some systemic diseases such as diabetes require a more detailed care of the feet, performing a thorough monitoring to avoid complications typical of such diseases.
What happens if we do not have chiropodies?
The consequences are the same as if a person never visited the dentist. They may never have problems in their mouth or feet, but an early detection of any alteration in the feet or nails can alleviate a major problem in the future.
A continuous control of our podiatric health is the best prevention to identify possible ailments or pathologies. Our feet are the engines that take us everywhere and, therefore, they must be checked and cared for.