Definition: Heel sleeves are toeless socks with a zone of gel at the heel. They are worn at night with a moisturizer at the heel. The gel and the moisturizer soften the dry skin and calluses, making pumicing more effective. Dry skin and thick heel callusing (fissures) create breaks in the skin, exposing the sub dermis. Bacteria can then go directly under the skin and flourish. This is especially dangerous for diabetics. Controlling the callusing can be difficult when the callus is especially thick as the callusing returns even after being cut off.
Regular use of a heel sleeve, along with regular pumicing, can help reduce the build up of new calluses so they don’t develop into heel fissures.
Benefits: For those with thick heel calluses and fissures, regular use of the sleeve and pumicing can helps in management of the callusing.
Text: Copyright 2005-2010 Carole Romig Image: Foothealth.com