Your feet are the foundation of your body, creating a powerful, stable platform for movement that allows you to stand, run and walk an average of 7,400 steps every day. Despite supporting your entire body weight throughout the day and absorbing the impact forces from the ground with every step, your feet are protected by just the skin surrounding them, your toenails, and the footwear you choose. As a result of their position on the frontline, the skin and nails can develop a range of painful or uncomfortable problems.

Skin And Nail Health Services

Skin and nail care appointments can instantly help alleviate many skin and nail ailments through hands-on care by our experienced podiatrists. For most people, these appointments leave them feeling noticeably better and lighter on their feet than when they came in. 

While some people book in due to an existing pain like a corn or an ingrown nail, others can no longer comfortably reach and care for their feet, so have their feet regularly cared for. You may also be at high risk of foot complications from conditions like diabetes if proper foot care is not taken, so want to have regular care to reduce your risk of complications like foot ulcers.

What Causes Skin And Nail Problems?

Aside from the stress and pressure on our feet from our body and the demands we place on them during sports, physical activity and daily life, our feet must also deal with the challenges of their location. On a daily basis, they risk coming into contact with bacteria, fungus or viruses on the ground. Our feet also have to manage a range of footwear which may come with friction and rubbing, dealing with hard and unforgiving surfaces, and much more. Alongside treatment, at your appointment, we’ll also discuss the likely causes of your skin and nail problems and how to prevent them from returning.

Common Skin And Nail Conditions We Treat

Fungal nails

Fungal nail infections can be frustrating and unsightly, with many people being unhappy with the changes to their toenails such as yellow, white or brown discolouration, thickening, the nails becoming brittle and flaky, or taking on a moth-eaten appearance. Fungus travels through spores, and when the spores infiltrate the nails, the infection begins and progressively worsens, often spreading to other household members in the process. Using the PACT fungal nail treatment, we safely, effectively, and painlessly eliminate fungal nail infections.

Thickened toenails

While some toenails grow thin and brittle over time, others become thick, hard and difficult to manage without the right medical-grade tools to help. We are able to trim through even the thickest toenails and help reduce some of their thickness with a burr. We also offer a nail restoration service where we thin out thickened or damaged nails and use Keryflex nail restoration to give the nail a beautiful, healthy and clear appearance.

Corns

Corns are small pinpoint areas of dead skin that can feel like hard, painful pebbles lodged in the bottom of your feet. Corns may also present as soft corns between the toes after the area has absorbed excess moisture and become painful, or seed corns which present as many small seed-sized corns at the bottom of the feet. We remove corns safely, effectively and painlessly during your appointment to give you much-needed relief when you stand and teach you how to prevent corns from recurring.

Calluses

Calluses are larger areas of firm, dead skin that build up in response to pressure or friction. As they grow bigger, they eventually reach a level where they become painful and uncomfortable. Interestingly, calluses are a protective mechanism from the body that tries to prevent your healthy skin from breaking down when exposed to high forces. We remove calluses simply and painlessly to a safe level, offering your feet some protection while helping them feel soft and comfortable.

Plantar warts

Plantar warts look like small, rough, round growths that are often mistaken for corns, and vice versa. They are caused by the HPV virus and are very contagious. Once you contract the virus, warts can develop on the feet and often these occur on weight-bearing areas which can make it difficult to walk without pain, prompting people to take action to treat their warts. We use an innovative and effective treatment for plantar warts called SWIFT microwave wart therapy.

Dry and cracked skin

When callus builds up around the heels, dries out and cracks, this is known as cracked heels. A danger with cracked heels is that it may not be just the hard outer layer that cracks, but also the healthy skin beneath, which is a potential source of significant pain, bleeding and infection. 

We can significantly reduce the thickness of your heels during your appointment, and may even be able to remove the cracks entirely in some cases, depending on their thickness. We’ll show you how you can best look after your heels at home and prevent them from cracking again.

Athlete’s foot (tinea)

Athlete’s foot is a fungal skin infection affecting the skin on the bottoms of the feet and between the toes. It often produces white, peeling bubbles on the skin's surface that can make the skin look dry, causing itching and discomfort. We help you choose the best antifungal agents to effectively manage your infection while teaching you how to prevent the infection from recurring or spreading to others in your household by putting the right measures in place to eliminate the fungal spores from your home.

Ingrown toenails

Ingrown toenails are a painful and often recurring problem where a sharp part of the nail pierces and penetrates the surrounding skin, and continues to grow in and irritate the area until it is treated. This can make it difficult for you to walk and wear shoes without pain. We have a number of solutions for ingrown toenail relief, ranging from one-off removal of the ingrown nail spicule for first-time ingrown toenails to permanent correction using a minor surgical procedure.

Your Appointment With Us

Your skin and nail care appointment starts with a discussion about your concerns and any problems you have, followed by an assessment of the skin and nails of your feet. Next, after going over the plan with you and confirming that you’re happy with it, we’ll begin your care. If this is a routine skin and nail care appointment that focuses on trimming the nails and addressing any corns and callus, we can: 

• Trim all of your toenails
  
• File your nails
  
• Reduce the thickness of your nails using a burr
  
• Clear debris from the sides of the nail with a blacks file
  
• Trim back any ingrown nail edges (conservatively)
  
• Debride any callus
  
• Reduce the thickness of cracked heels
  
• Remove any corns
  
• Smooth any rough skin edges with a sanding disc
  
• Apply moisturising cream
  
• Educate you on the best way to help care for your feet between appointments
  

We’ll also book you in for any specialised care you may need, such as wart removal, fungal nail treatment, ingrown nail surgery, a diabetic foot assessment, or if you’re experiencing musculoskeletal foot or leg pain, we’ll book you in for a biomechanical assessment.

FAQs

Visit one of our Brisbane Podiatry clinics

If you would like to talk to one of our team, visit us at one of two Brisbane based locations, CBD & Newmarket.

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