Rainy Season Foot Care : Essential Tips to Protect Your Feet

During the rainy season, it’s commonplace for individuals to be particularly vigilant about maintaining their skin tone and hairstyle, shielding them from the potential disturbances brought about by the persistent moisture and humidity. Regrettably, this heightened attention often overlooks an equally crucial aspect of personal care – the protection of our feet. Exposed continuously to the wet conditions, our feet become vulnerable hotspots for a multitude of skin and nail infections, necessitating urgent and heightened care.^[1]

Rainwater, a well-known incubator for various pathogens, incessantly wets our feet throughout the season, fostering an environment ripe for infections and other ailments. In light of this, adopting proactive measures to keep our feet clean, healthy, and smooth becomes not just important but essential. As we delve deeper into this topic, this article aims to spotlight the significance of foot care during the rainy season, offering insightful guidance on safeguarding against serious foot disorders and promoting overall foot health.^[1]

Protecting the foot is a necessity during the rainy season to prevent onset of infections affecting the feet. Some of the ways to protect the foot during rainy season include:

Footwear: Having the right footwear to wear during monsoons should be the first priority. Wearing waterproof footwear, like gum boots, is something that tends to work well on a rainy day.  The boots prevent the feet from getting wet by the dirty water.

On the other hand, leather or sports shoes or sneakers get wet easily and provide a breeding ground for bacterial infections, especially if the individual has to wear them for long periods in the day.  Tinea Pedis is the most common infection of the foot that an individual can get due to un-protective shoes during the rainy season.^[2]

Foot Cleaning: This is also an important way to protect the foot in the rainy season.  Immediately after returning home from outside in the rain it is a healthy practice to clean the feet thoroughly with soap and water to wash away any bacteria that may have accumulated due to the dirty rainwater.^[2]

Nail Hygiene: It is mandatory for people to cut their foot nails short as bacteria and fungus stick to the edges of the nails and from there they tend to spark off an infection. Moreover, if nail hygiene is not maintained then it also causes smelly feet which can be quite embarrassing in social situations.^[2]

Cover Abrasions: if an individual sustains any cuts or abrasions in the foot then it is best to cover them up especially in the rainy season. This is to prevent the wound from getting contaminated by bacteria or fungus from rainwater. It is best to wear closed shoes after wrapping the wound with a Band-Aid or a sterile dry dressing. The most common contaminant is Leptospira.

This bacterium spreads from the urine and feces of rats which often urinate and defecate in rainwater during the rainy season. If there is a cut or a bruise that is not covered the bacterium can enter the body and cause severe infection that will require aggressive antibiotic treatment. The infection that is caused is termed as leptospirosis. It is characterized by severe joint pain, rashes on the skin, nausea, and vomiting.^[2]

In conclusion, it is mandatory to keep the feet protected during the rainy season. The feet are as important as the skin and hair and require the same attention during monsoons. The best way to protect the feet is to keep them as dry and clean as possible during the rainy season.

This can be done by wearing proper footwear, washing the feet, and covering any cuts and bruises. The main thing to be remembered is that a little bit of complacency can prove costly when it comes to taking care of the feet in the rainy season.

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