How to Care forYour Feet

Produced and supervised by: The University of Tokyo,
The Institute of Medical Science
Published by: NIHON SUMO KYOKAI

Table of Contents
1. Why Do We Need to Care for
Our Feet? ・・・・・・・・・・

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2. Daily Foot Care(1)Daily Foot Checks ・・・・・

4(2)

How to Wash Your Feet ・・5(3)How to Dry Your Feet ・・・

6(4)Moisturizing Your Feet ・・・ 7

3. Taking Care of
Built-up Calluses ・・・・・・・

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4. How to Cut Your
Toenails Well ・・・・・・・・・ 10
5. Ringworm (Athlete's Foot) ・・ 11
6. For Those with Diabetes ・・・ 131

Introduction
Our hospital provides foot care forthose with lesions on their feet due todiabetes.
Based on the outpatient foot care
we provide, we've put together thissummary of how to care for your feetthat'll be helpful for sumo wrestlers,
who compete barefoot.
Please use it to help yourself carefor your feet.

21. Why Do We Need to Care for
Our Feet?
(1) To prevent foot injuries fromworsening
By checking your feet every day, you can find wounds
at earlier stage and that prevent wounds fromworsening.

(2) To prevent serious injuries andinfections from foot injuries
・ People with diabetes are often unconscious of footpain and donʼt recognize injuries or infections until
those get worsened.
・ You must pay close attention to your foot as
infections from wounds on your foot may easily
spread and cause cellulitis or other serious issues.
Check your feet frequently and keep them healthy.

32. Daily Foot Care
(1) Daily foot checks① Wounds and bleeding
・ Do you have any wounds or cuts?
・ If youʼre bleeding, disinfect the cut and bandage it.
② Nails
・ Are your nails too long? Are they deformed in anyway?
・ Doyousee

anyswelling,

cuts,orskin

abnormalities around the nails, on the tips of yourtoes, or between your toes?
③ Soles and heels
・ When you touch your soles or toes, do they feel
numb in any spots?
・ Are the calluses on your soles or heels too thick?
・ Is the skin on your soles or heels hard andcracking?
* What are calluses? Calluses are the outermost layerof the skin. They thicken easily due
to dryness or irritation.

4(2) How to Wash Your Feet
① Wet your feet with water.
② Lather up regular or foaming soap well and use yourhands to gently wash your toenails, your toes andthe areas between them, the instep of your feet,your soles, and your heels, in that order.

③ Rinse them off thoroughly in the shower.
Tips to Keep in Mind When Washing★ Scrubbing your feet can scratch the dead skin on them,making it easier for bacteria to get inside.
★ Remove dirt from any cracks in your skin by sitting ina way that puts no weight on your feet, washing themwell, and rinsing them off in the shower.

5(3) How to Dry Your Feet
Dry your feet with your own towel.
Make sure to also wipe away any moisture thoroughly
between your toes and let those areas dry completely.
Bacteria can grow easily if any moisture is left over.

6(4) Moisturizing Your FeetYour feet are dry and prone to cracked skin after you
wash them.
Apply a moisturizing cream all over your feet every day.
In dry seasons like winter, you should also keep socks on
as often as you can.

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3. Taking Care of Built-up
Calluses (1)The skin on your feet should be thick to a certain degree
to protect them from injuries and other issues. However,the skin in the areas you put your weight on can easilybe hardened and thickened. If left uncared, it becomes
too hard, cracks or blood oozes out and it won't heal
easily.
To avoid them, apply moisturizing cream after bathing
and use a callus remover regularly.
Example of a callus remover:

Removers from any brand or material
will do. Choose something you are
comfort with.

83. Taking Care of Built-up
Calluses (2)How to use a callus remover① Use a callus remover on dry feet.
If you use one while bathing, dry your feet off witha towel before doing so.
② Dampen the callus remover slightly before use, andscrub your feet with the callus remover several
times, donʼt forget to check the hardness of the skinby touching with your hand. Do not remove the skin
too much skin.
③ Scrub your skin parallel to cracks in your skin toavoid pulling the skin surface or widening them.
④ Always apply moisturizing cream after using acallus remover.

Tips to Keep in Mind When Using a Callus Remover★ Compare the skin where you're scrubbing and thesurrounding area by touching, and stop scrubbing
while it still feels a bit harder than the surroundingarea.
94. How to Cut Your Toenails Well

① Try to do it after bathing when the nails are soft
② Cut little by little from the tips to avoid splitting③ Cut the nails so that they are level with the tips ofyour toes④ Leave 1 mm of white on the tips of the toenails. Cutthem into square shapes and file down bothcorners.

(Too short)Tips to Keep in Mind When Cutting Your Toenails★ Cutting your toenails into rounded shapes can leadto ingrown toenails.

105. Ringworm (Athlete's Foot) (1)
Cause
Ringworm is an infection caused by a fungus called
Trichophyton, which uses keratin (the surface layer ofthe skin) as a nutrient source, forms lesions, and evenspreads to other people.

Symptoms
The skin between the toes swell, become greyish, andcause the feeling of moist and itchiness; small blisters
may be developped; and so on.
Consult a dermatologist immediately as other issues
besides ringworm can cause similar symptoms.

Treatment
Ringworm can heal if you apply ointment properly(although pills may be required in some cases).
You may have to keep treating it for a long time, and you
should continue doing so until your doctor tells you tostop.

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5. Ringworm (Athlete's Foot) (2)How to apply the ointment① Apply the ointment after bathing, when it canpermeate into the skin easily.
② Use about 2 cm of it̶as shown below̶for eachfoot. Use a bit at a time and apply it to each toe
one by one, and in between the toes.
③ Apply any leftover ointment to the soles and use
more when needed.
④ Keep rubbing it in until it's transparent.
⑤ Wash your hands well after applying it.

126. For Those with Diabetes
Diabetes can cause peripheral neuropathy in the tips ofthe toes and other areas, which can lead to infections,poor circulation, and more. These symptoms make it
hard to feel pain even if your feet are injured, which
can lead to several other issues. For example, noticing
an injury late makes time for a wound to get infected
and cause cellulitis, and having poor circulation makes
wounds and infections harder to heal.
Keep your blood sugar at a proficient level, and makesure to monitor your feet well and care for them everyday. Find any problems quickly and get them healed assoon as possible.
If you have a wound on your foot that won't heal andany swelling, warmth, or pain, consult your diabetes
doctor.

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We wish you all
the best of luck.

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Ver. 4 (July 7, 2022)
Produced and supervised by: Hiromi Isshiki, Sixth Floor Head Nurse
Sixth Floor Nursing TeamThe University of Tokyo,
The Institute of Medical Science
In cooperation with: Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi, Professor,
Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology,
Hospital Director
Michiko Koga, Project Senior AssistantProfessor, Division of Infectious Diseases
The University of Tokyo,
The Institute of Medical Science
Please refrain from reproducing, reprinting, etc. information contained herein without permission.

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