Skin Care – Skin Care Tips

There are many causes of bunions and therefore varying ways of treating bunions. A bunion (or hallux valgus) is an inflammation and thickening of the bursa of the joint of the big toe, frequently associated with enlargement of the joint and deformity of the toe.

Causes

There is no single cause of a bunion. It may develop from arthritic joint destruction, overpronation of the foot, heredity, or from ill-fitting tight shoes. It results in ugly misshapen feet with big toe angling in and either tucking under or over your second toe. It is usually painless but can be quite painful if allowed to progress. A bunion has the tendency to increase in size due to excessive weight load and from foot pressure. It causes widening of the forefoot and may in turn cause your gait to become off balance. A bunion on your small toe, though not as common is called a tailor’s bunion.

Treatment

Sometimes merely changing the type of shoes you wear can prevent the worsening of a bunion. Irrespective of gender, switching from a tight, pointed toe shoe to a sandal can help enormously. So can the wearing of a bunion shoe, available from most orthopaedic shoe stores. Both shoe styles remove the source of pressure on the bunion and have a wider forefront to accommodate a bunioned foot. If your desire for fashion precludes such a change of shoe style, then remember, a consequence could well be that your bunion will progressively get, bigger, uglier and increasingly painful.

If an athlete, then a practical measure is to make a slit in the shoe in the bunion area to allow for extra room and thus alleviate pressure. If you overpronate, consider trying a commercial arch support to help take some of the weight off the bunion.

Try as well, placing a pad over the bunion to reduce friction. Be careful not to add thickness, as this will just add more pressure. So, cut a hole in the middle of the pad where the bunion protrudes. The surrounding area is now built up a bit and hopefully some pressure is taken off the bunion.