Health

I have a client who told me she has a “pressure callus.” How should I treat it?

November 01, 2008 | Bookmark +

I have a client who told me she has a “pressure callus.” It’s on the bottom of her foot below her first toe. Is this a special kind of callus? How should I treat it?

Answer

I think a pressure callus is the same thing as a callus. It’s from weight bearing — from pressure. Generally the only time I see the term “pressure callus” is with diabetics. All calluses are a thickening of the outermost layers of skin, due to friction. Under the second toe is a common area of “shearing” pressure, sometimes giving us a shearing callus. It’s the twist of the foot when we walk that gives us shearing calluses, or shearing pressure calluses.

A podiatrist would treat it with a sharp scalpel to debride it gently. I use moleskin adhesive afterwards, especially if the patient is sensitive. A nail tech could scrub the area with an abrasive pumice to remove some of it. Some of it is usually necessary for comfortable walking. If it’s huge, have a podiatrist treat the callus every six weeks and the nail tech can pumice the area every two weeks.  — Johanna Youner, D.P.M., is attending podiatric physician and surgeon at New York Downtown Hospital and is also in private practice in New York City.

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What’s the cause of the pinkish-red oval area on the pad of my client’s toes?

I have a client who has a recurring problem with her fourth toes during the winter months. Both of her “ring finger” toes develop a pinkish-red oval area on the pad. Then a month later, when I see her again, the skin has become dry and hard like a callus, with the layers of skin peeling away to reveal a deeper, dark epicenter.  It’s extremely painful for her and, needless to say, we do not touch it. But it clears up in the summer when she’s wearing open-toed sandals, so I suspect it has to be due to the boots she wears in the winter. Plus she never puts lotion on her feet or uses a foot file in between visits. What do you think causes this?

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What are the big white spots on my natural-nail client’s nails?

I have a client who has been with me for about two years. She used to wear acrylic nails but has been a natural nail client for eight months or so. She has these white spots on her nails — big spots that are dry, but not flaky, right in the middle of the nail. I did try to buff them lightly but they do not come off or grow off. I had a new client come in last week who had the same on her toenails. She said it started after she had a pedicure done at another salon. Can you help?

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