The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-04-04
Our Olio.
THE CARE OF THE FEET.

A. J. Moore, in Boots and Shoes Weekly.
A corn comes of an injury to the flesh,
while the bunion comes of an injury to the
Joint. Other than this their growth is
quite similar, and quite frequently one is
the outcome of the other. The corn may
induce a bunion or the bunion Il corn.
Bunions, | believe, are never found except
upon the joint of the great toe. A hard
corn at this point may press so severely
against the joint as to injure it, giving
growth to the bunion, while on the other
hand the joint being injured produces a
bunion, which as it grows fills the shoe,
causing friction that gives birth to corn,
making fourishing combination.
In every joint of the body there is a
membrane the function Of which is to Sc
crete fluid that acts as Il lubricant. In
The Joint of the great toe this membrane is
called the 6,usa mucosa, and when injured,
inflames and swells This swelling is COM
monty known as bunion. Thus it is seen
that bunions are located in the joint, and
the swelling is only its effect and not the
bunion itself.
4 bunion is very rarely found on a foot
the great toe of which lies in direct line
with the center of the heel, but the more
the great toe is twisted to one side, the
more susceptible is the joint to bunions.
To effect permanent cure it is imperative
that the great toe be restored to its normal
position. To do this first secure pair of
Shoes that will permit it, but this will count
as naught unless the hose is constructed
upon the same principle. 1t will be seen
at a glance that the toe is held in the same
position here as in an ill-fitting, narrow
toed shoe-all bound together in heap.
We never think of binding the fingers to-
gether in such a manner, then why affiict
the toes ? for surely they are quite as i'm
portant in their way as the more honorable
members-the fingers. Not long ago Mrs
Amelie Rives Chanler startled the public
in general, and newspaper reporters in par
ticular, by donning pair of digitated hose.
While her ideas were little beyond the
times, do thank her for breaking the way
for digitated hosiery. While l am not
prepared to advocate this idea in shoes, it
is the correct one for hosiery, and the toes
cannot assume their normal position when
clothed otherwise Not only would it be
preventive of bunions, but of soft cOrns.
If the reader is not prepared to make 50
radical departure as digitated hose, and
desires cure, then the next best thing
must be done by cutting open the stocking
aud separating the great toe from its neigh
Dor. Use the foot bath quite frequently to
allay the Inflammation, and remove what
ever callous flesh there may be- At night
bind the bunion with linen, well saturated
with meats foot oil. Wear shoe that will
allow the great toe to resume its normal
position. The shoe must also be OF some
soft, pliable material. A felt shoe is the
best that can be procured. If the swelling
is on the under side of the joint, then use
thick, soft inner sole from which por-
ton has been cut away to gift the bunion.
If, after this treatment has been followed
for few weeks, there is no relief, then the
chiropodist must be visited, as the bunion
is beyond ordinary treatment.
1t cannot be too strong ly impressed upon
the mind that the feet require quite as much
or more attention than the hands, yet no
member of the body is so sadly neglected.
II any physical ailment assails us, we
straightway call in the physician and are
dosed homeopathically or ALPHABETICALLY, ac-
cording to his school; if we fracture a limb
then the surgeon attends; if our teeth trou-
Bile us, then we visit him who makes a
speciality of their treatment-the dentist
Then when our feet are diseased, why not
visit him who makes a specially of their
cure-the chiropodist
1t is now quite fashionable to have euI
hands and finger nails cared for by the
specialist, for beauty's sake; why not have
our feet 50 treated for comforts sake? To
enjoy comfort and preserve the health oi
the feet, we cannot be too careful in the
selection of our footwear. Too often al
iIl-ftting shoe will be endured on the ground
of economy, the wearer saying that as the
shoes are bought, his moneys worth mus
t be gotten out of them, and so persists il
wearing them. The wearing out of one
pair of ill-itting shoes will damage the
feet to a greater extent than can be re
paired during the lifetime of several pair
of perfect-ftting shoes, for unfortunately
the evil that misfits do lives after them
OF course the first essential is a shoe tha
fits the foot; then come some little point
which, though they seem triAing, are o
, vital importance. Few persons give though
beyond the fit of shoe, and most of u
overlook as seemingly small matters tn
material from which the shoe is made o
how the feet are clothed
That cold feet are detrimental 10 200,