November 22, 2023 • 11 mins
Looking for sensible advice to safeguard your foot's skin health? Wondering how to deal with common foot problems such as plantar warts, athlete's foot, or dermatitis? Join us as we unravel the mysteries of foot skin ailments with esteemed Dr. Lauren Dabakaroff. We discuss the most common skin issues she encounters in her practice, offering insights into their causes, identification, and remedies. Talk about taking a step in the right direction!
Additionally, Dr. Dabakaroff guides us through the ins and outs of going barefoot in nature. Dive into the fascinating world of foot care as we explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of this practice. And, if you're troubled by dry, cracked heels or bothersome blisters, you won't want to miss our segment on at-home remedies and preventative measures. Get ready to kick off your shoes, tune in, and embrace a new perspective on foot health. Trust us, this episode has got you covered, heel to toe!
To learn more, visit: LMDpodiatry.com or contact (954) 680-7133
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the LMD Pediatry podcast.
Trust us to get back on yourfeet.
Here's your host, Dr LaurenDevakarov.
Jeremy (00:14):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the LMD Pediatry podcast.
I'm your co-host, Jeremy Wolf,and I am joined by none other
than your host, dr LaurenDevakarov.
Dr Devakarov, how are you doingtoday?
Dr. Dabakaroff (00:30):
I'm doing great.
A little rainy.
Jeremy (00:32):
Yeah, well kids are off from school, so got that
exciting thing going on.
Why don't we this episode?
I thought we would talk alittle bit about common issues
with the skin.
That's a great topic.
Dr. Dabakaroff (00:52):
That is a great topic because it's probably one
of the most common things I seein the office, aside for sports
injuries and foot pain andthings like that.
Jeremy (01:04):
So what are some common types of ailments that folks
suffer with the skin on theirfeet?
I know there's athletes, butplanters, warts, there's quite a
few of them.
Why don't you go in and explainsome of these different issues?
Dr. Dabakaroff (01:19):
So one of the most common things I see.
So there's the skin of the feetand then there's the toenails,
so there's a lot of things thathappen to both.
So as far as the skin goes, oneof the most common things I see
is a planter's wart.
I see that a lot.
It's something contagious.
The patients usually picked itup from somewhere, walking
(01:44):
barefoot around the pool, goingto someone else's shower.
Little kids get it a lot andwhat a planter's wart is?
It's a virus of the skin andthe wart, the virus of the skin,
it's feeding off of your bloodsupply to live on you.
So I see that a lot.
One of the other things I see alot is athlete's foot and
(02:09):
athlete any type of fungus.
It's because, just like a breadgoes moldy and you leave it
when you put it in a bag, it'sthe same thing with foot.
Wear a shoe without a sock, forexample, your foot gets sweaty
and then over time you can get afungus.
That's what athlete's foot is.
It's a fungus.
(02:29):
Other things I see skin wise onthe foot.
I'd say I think we'll get a lotof dermatitis from their shoes,
like inflammation if they'rewearing like skin irritation.
It kind of looks like eggs themup, but it's not.
It's just, you know, they'resensitive to whatever material
is in their shoe or the glue,things like that.
(02:51):
So that's definitely some stuffI see.
I also see smelly feet.
You know people come for that.
I see stinky feet, smelly feet.
There is treatment for it andthere is a cause to all of it
Sweaty feet.
Those are just my top four, topthree or four things that I see
(03:13):
as far as the skin part of thefoot.
And then you also have the rarethings.
You know, a little mole thatyou've never seen before.
You know that's definitelysomething that I buy up, see and
go further.
It could be they're done by meor dermatologist, but my
specialty is the foot.
So within the foot, I alreadyknow, you know more or less,
(03:35):
what's the next step.
Jeremy (03:38):
Are there any benefits to?
I've heard people talk aboutwalking around at least in
nature.
Not outside on the concrete,but walking around in the grass
barefoot and exposing your feetto the elements that way.
Is there any benefit to doingthat, or is that just?
Dr. Dabakaroff (03:53):
I mean your feet just get really dirty, like I
think I think walking barefooton sand on the beach is actually
really healthy for your footand, you know, and it's like a
little exfoliation and alsohelps strengthen some of the,
you know, deeper muscles of thefoot.
(04:13):
But as far as foot skin health,you know your foot's going to
get dirty.
You can pick up, you know, sometype of infection from the dirt
and your skin.
You don't want to do that.
Jeremy (04:28):
So what are some remedies?
Let's say you just have justdry, crack heels, maybe some
blisters.
What are some home remedies orthings that you can do at home
to well a prevent it in thefirst place but be treated so
that folks maybe don't have toactually go in to see up at my
address for these issues?
Dr. Dabakaroff (04:50):
So for dry crack heels is also something,
calluses is also a big thing,dry crack, cracked heels.
But for dry cracked heels oneof the you know the best thing
for that is not walking barefoot, that's it.
That's the best way, because youknow your foot gets dry and it
(05:11):
doesn't get.
You're not retaining themoisture of your own skin and
the foot, and so Florida is liketop for dry, cracked heels,
because everybody's wearingsandals the red walking barefoot
at home.
But to treat it, if you want toavoid coming to see me, you
know the best thing to do.
My recommendation is alwayscream under occlusion, which
(05:35):
means you take any cream thatyou have at home, you know, your
Eustrin or your Vino orwhatever body lotion you have,
and then you slap it on the backof your heel, on the bottom of
your heel, and then you put apiece of saran wrap over your
heel at night and then you puton a sock.
So what the body?
(05:55):
So what happens is you don'tlet the cream dry to air and it
fully gets absorbed.
So that's that's one of my toptricks, you know I also.
You know there's differentsoaks that I sell in the office
that help, you know, usedifferent medicines to debrief
the skin for people who can'treach their feet.
(06:17):
There's so many differenttreatment options and if you
really can't get to it, once youknow I can in my office I
scrape it down and help youprevent it from coming back.
So that's, that's a greatremedy.
It's pretty basic, you justhave to do it.
Jeremy (06:38):
Ingrown toenails you mentioned earlier.
So if you have, if you'resuffering from an ingrown
toenail, what's what?
Are some ways to treat that athome.
Dr. Dabakaroff (06:46):
So we we talked about the skin, and the next
part I was going to talk aboutwas toenails.
So for toenails, ingrowntoenails, if they start to hurt
eventually you need to come inand see me, because when the
nail is ingrown, it's ingrown atthe root and then if you, you
(07:06):
know, if it's starting to hurt,you know the best thing to do is
soak in Epsom salt soaks todecrease the inflammation and
put a little like Neosporin inthe corner just to prevent it
from getting worse.
You really just need to letyour nails grow and cut them
straight across.
That's the best thing to do foringrown toenails.
(07:27):
Now, if you let it go too far,it becomes more and more ingrown
and it becomes more and morepainful and it can get infected,
and that's when you really needto see me.
Jeremy (07:38):
I'm curious why are the nails so so sensitive?
Obviously there's nerveclusters there.
I get.
I get why it's so painful whenyou have an ingrown toenail.
But for, like an evolutionarystandpoint, what's the reason
why those the nails?
What do they do for the bodythat I speak, speaking of the
toenails specifically that wouldcause them to evolve in such a
(08:00):
way that it's that painful andthere are nerve clusters there.
Dr. Dabakaroff (08:03):
So the okay.
So the nail bed, which is theskin underneath the toenail or
your fingernails, it's highlyinnervated, like there are a lot
of Innervated.
Yeah, so there are a lot ofnerves underneath, oh, the
innervated.
But even if you rip off yourfingernails, it's very painful
because underneath, underneaththe fingernail or the toenail,
(08:27):
there's actually a lot of nervesand that's why it's so painful
and that's why you always need alittle local anesthesia before
I do anything to fix the ingrowntoenail.
Jeremy (08:39):
Yeah, I, I Okay, definitely a lot of nerves under
those.
I was more curious and maybeyou don't know the answer to
that as to evolutionary, why ithurts so much or no, not why it
hurts.
Why the body evolved to havethese nerve clusters
specifically under the nails.
Like what function?
What function do nails serve inthe body?
Dr. Dabakaroff (08:59):
evolution.
From an evolutionary standpoint, the nails are for digging
digging interesting, like youknow.
You see a monkey, you knowmonkey gorilla.
You know what did they usetheir claws for?
It's for digging, and that'skind of, from an evolutionary
standpoint, why we even havefingernails and toenails like
(09:21):
they don't really have.
The toenails don't really havemuch of a function in our, in
our era, right now.
I could live without you don'tneed them, but yeah, that's why
that's what we have them.
Jeremy (09:41):
Anything else you wanted to touch upon before we wrap up
?
Dr. Dabakaroff (09:43):
you know, in grown toenails is something I
see on a daily basis.
You know you could use thoseremedies, you know if they hurt,
if it hurts just to like avoidit from getting worse.
But if you truly have ingrowntoenail, you have to come in and
and get evaluated.
There's so many differenttreatment options.
(10:05):
There's you know the basicprocedures, and then there's
even I have an system calledonyfix.
Onyfix is a great non-invasiveway to treat an ingrown toenail.
It's actually a brace for thetoenail, so and it helps it grow
out straight.
You know, over time, as yourtoenail goes out, it's great.
(10:26):
And then there's obviouslyneedles and the sort for really
bad toenails that are infectedand we can't wait for onyfix to
do its trick.
But yeah, you can't let it gotoo far.
I've seen them get really badwhen patients don't come to the
doctor.
I've seen that ingrown toenailbecome a bone infection.
So it's it's pertinent not tolet it wait yeah, common theme,
(10:53):
right preventative care.
Jeremy (10:54):
Make sure you get all the.
Don't wait until it's too late.
You know, get, get checked out,get your annual checkups and if
you have an issue don't wait toaddress it, because then it
becomes a problem.
For sure, dr D, always apleasure pleasure is mine all
right.
Thanks everyone for tuning in.
We will catch you on the nextepisode.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Everyone, take care thank you for listening to the
LMD podiatry podcast.
For more information, visit LMDpodiatrycom that's LMD
podiatrycom or call 954-680-7133.
Welcome to the LMD Pediatry podcast.
Trust us to get back on yourfeet.
Here's your host, Dr LaurenDevakarov.
Jeremy (00:14):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the LMD Pediatry podcast.
I'm your co-host, Jeremy Wolf,and I am joined by none other
than your host, dr LaurenDevakarov.
Dr Devakarov, how are you doingtoday?
Dr. Dabakaroff (00:30):
I'm doing great.
A little rainy.
Jeremy (00:32):
Yeah, well kids are off from school, so got that
exciting thing going on.
Why don't we this episode?
I thought we would talk alittle bit about common issues
with the skin.
That's a great topic.
Dr. Dabakaroff (00:52):
That is a great topic because it's probably one
of the most common things I seein the office, aside for sports
injuries and foot pain andthings like that.
Jeremy (01:04):
So what are some common types of ailments that folks
suffer with the skin on theirfeet?
I know there's athletes, butplanters, warts, there's quite a
few of them.
Why don't you go in and explainsome of these different issues?
Dr. Dabakaroff (01:19):
So one of the most common things I see.
So there's the skin of the feetand then there's the toenails,
so there's a lot of things thathappen to both.
So as far as the skin goes, oneof the most common things I see
is a planter's wart.
I see that a lot.
It's something contagious.
The patients usually picked itup from somewhere, walking
(01:44):
barefoot around the pool, goingto someone else's shower.
Little kids get it a lot andwhat a planter's wart is?
It's a virus of the skin andthe wart, the virus of the skin,
it's feeding off of your bloodsupply to live on you.
So I see that a lot.
One of the other things I see alot is athlete's foot and
(02:09):
athlete any type of fungus.
It's because, just like a breadgoes moldy and you leave it
when you put it in a bag, it'sthe same thing with foot.
Wear a shoe without a sock, forexample, your foot gets sweaty
and then over time you can get afungus.
That's what athlete's foot is.
It's a fungus.
(02:29):
Other things I see skin wise onthe foot.
I'd say I think we'll get a lotof dermatitis from their shoes,
like inflammation if they'rewearing like skin irritation.
It kind of looks like eggs themup, but it's not.
It's just, you know, they'resensitive to whatever material
is in their shoe or the glue,things like that.
(02:51):
So that's definitely some stuffI see.
I also see smelly feet.
You know people come for that.
I see stinky feet, smelly feet.
There is treatment for it andthere is a cause to all of it
Sweaty feet.
Those are just my top four, topthree or four things that I see
(03:13):
as far as the skin part of thefoot.
And then you also have the rarethings.
You know, a little mole thatyou've never seen before.
You know that's definitelysomething that I buy up, see and
go further.
It could be they're done by meor dermatologist, but my
specialty is the foot.
So within the foot, I alreadyknow, you know more or less,
(03:35):
what's the next step.
Jeremy (03:38):
Are there any benefits to?
I've heard people talk aboutwalking around at least in
nature.
Not outside on the concrete,but walking around in the grass
barefoot and exposing your feetto the elements that way.
Is there any benefit to doingthat, or is that just?
Dr. Dabakaroff (03:53):
I mean your feet just get really dirty, like I
think I think walking barefooton sand on the beach is actually
really healthy for your footand, you know, and it's like a
little exfoliation and alsohelps strengthen some of the,
you know, deeper muscles of thefoot.
(04:13):
But as far as foot skin health,you know your foot's going to
get dirty.
You can pick up, you know, sometype of infection from the dirt
and your skin.
You don't want to do that.
Jeremy (04:28):
So what are some remedies?
Let's say you just have justdry, crack heels, maybe some
blisters.
What are some home remedies orthings that you can do at home
to well a prevent it in thefirst place but be treated so
that folks maybe don't have toactually go in to see up at my
address for these issues?
Dr. Dabakaroff (04:50):
So for dry crack heels is also something,
calluses is also a big thing,dry crack, cracked heels.
But for dry cracked heels oneof the you know the best thing
for that is not walking barefoot, that's it.
That's the best way, because youknow your foot gets dry and it
(05:11):
doesn't get.
You're not retaining themoisture of your own skin and
the foot, and so Florida is liketop for dry, cracked heels,
because everybody's wearingsandals the red walking barefoot
at home.
But to treat it, if you want toavoid coming to see me, you
know the best thing to do.
My recommendation is alwayscream under occlusion, which
(05:35):
means you take any cream thatyou have at home, you know, your
Eustrin or your Vino orwhatever body lotion you have,
and then you slap it on the backof your heel, on the bottom of
your heel, and then you put apiece of saran wrap over your
heel at night and then you puton a sock.
So what the body?
(05:55):
So what happens is you don'tlet the cream dry to air and it
fully gets absorbed.
So that's that's one of my toptricks, you know I also.
You know there's differentsoaks that I sell in the office
that help, you know, usedifferent medicines to debrief
the skin for people who can'treach their feet.
(06:17):
There's so many differenttreatment options and if you
really can't get to it, once youknow I can in my office I
scrape it down and help youprevent it from coming back.
So that's, that's a greatremedy.
It's pretty basic, you justhave to do it.
Jeremy (06:38):
Ingrown toenails you mentioned earlier.
So if you have, if you'resuffering from an ingrown
toenail, what's what?
Are some ways to treat that athome.
Dr. Dabakaroff (06:46):
So we we talked about the skin, and the next
part I was going to talk aboutwas toenails.
So for toenails, ingrowntoenails, if they start to hurt
eventually you need to come inand see me, because when the
nail is ingrown, it's ingrown atthe root and then if you, you
(07:06):
know, if it's starting to hurt,you know the best thing to do is
soak in Epsom salt soaks todecrease the inflammation and
put a little like Neosporin inthe corner just to prevent it
from getting worse.
You really just need to letyour nails grow and cut them
straight across.
That's the best thing to do foringrown toenails.
(07:27):
Now, if you let it go too far,it becomes more and more ingrown
and it becomes more and morepainful and it can get infected,
and that's when you really needto see me.
Jeremy (07:38):
I'm curious why are the nails so so sensitive?
Obviously there's nerveclusters there.
I get.
I get why it's so painful whenyou have an ingrown toenail.
But for, like an evolutionarystandpoint, what's the reason
why those the nails?
What do they do for the bodythat I speak, speaking of the
toenails specifically that wouldcause them to evolve in such a
(08:00):
way that it's that painful andthere are nerve clusters there.
Dr. Dabakaroff (08:03):
So the okay.
So the nail bed, which is theskin underneath the toenail or
your fingernails, it's highlyinnervated, like there are a lot
of Innervated.
Yeah, so there are a lot ofnerves underneath, oh, the
innervated.
But even if you rip off yourfingernails, it's very painful
because underneath, underneaththe fingernail or the toenail,
(08:27):
there's actually a lot of nervesand that's why it's so painful
and that's why you always need alittle local anesthesia before
I do anything to fix the ingrowntoenail.
Jeremy (08:39):
Yeah, I, I Okay, definitely a lot of nerves under
those.
I was more curious and maybeyou don't know the answer to
that as to evolutionary, why ithurts so much or no, not why it
hurts.
Why the body evolved to havethese nerve clusters
specifically under the nails.
Like what function?
What function do nails serve inthe body?
Dr. Dabakaroff (08:59):
evolution.
From an evolutionary standpoint, the nails are for digging
digging interesting, like youknow.
You see a monkey, you knowmonkey gorilla.
You know what did they usetheir claws for?
It's for digging, and that'skind of, from an evolutionary
standpoint, why we even havefingernails and toenails like
(09:21):
they don't really have.
The toenails don't really havemuch of a function in our, in
our era, right now.
I could live without you don'tneed them, but yeah, that's why
that's what we have them.
Jeremy (09:41):
Anything else you wanted to touch upon before we wrap up
?
Dr. Dabakaroff (09:43):
you know, in grown toenails is something I
see on a daily basis.
You know you could use thoseremedies, you know if they hurt,
if it hurts just to like avoidit from getting worse.
But if you truly have ingrowntoenail, you have to come in and
and get evaluated.
There's so many differenttreatment options.
(10:05):
There's you know the basicprocedures, and then there's
even I have an system calledonyfix.
Onyfix is a great non-invasiveway to treat an ingrown toenail.
It's actually a brace for thetoenail, so and it helps it grow
out straight.
You know, over time, as yourtoenail goes out, it's great.
(10:26):
And then there's obviouslyneedles and the sort for really
bad toenails that are infectedand we can't wait for onyfix to
do its trick.
But yeah, you can't let it gotoo far.
I've seen them get really badwhen patients don't come to the
doctor.
I've seen that ingrown toenailbecome a bone infection.
So it's it's pertinent not tolet it wait yeah, common theme,
(10:53):
right preventative care.
Jeremy (10:54):
Make sure you get all the.
Don't wait until it's too late.
You know, get, get checked out,get your annual checkups and if
you have an issue don't wait toaddress it, because then it
becomes a problem.
For sure, dr D, always apleasure pleasure is mine all
right.
Thanks everyone for tuning in.
We will catch you on the nextepisode.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Everyone, take care thank you for listening to the
LMD podiatry podcast.
For more information, visit LMDpodiatrycom that's LMD
podiatrycom or call 954-680-7133.
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