Added: 07/04/2005 |
Feet care
It is not a secret that sore feet and uncomfortable shoes may ruin vacations, especially when you are on walking tour or going hiking.
- Bring with you comfortable walking shoes. Ladies, please, no heels! They are not for vacations. If you have no shoes that are specially designed for walking or casual shoes, buy a pair or two for vacations. Do it beforehand so you will have some tome to wear them to your shape and to avoid corns when you are far away from your home and new lands are waiting to be discovered by you.
There are special shoes for hiking. An experienced hiker might be able to choose lighter boots than a less experienced hiker even if they plan to do the same hike under the same conditions. Especially if you are new to hiking you should go for hiking boots that give good support while your feet, ankles, achilles tendon, calves and legs get used to the added strain of hiking. If you plan to increase your hiking skill level by gradually increasing the difficulty, load, duration and/or terrain difficulty of your hikes then make sure to buy boots that allow you to grow and that will still meet your needs once you reach your next skill level. There are no boots however that facilitate all levels of hiking so make sure to get new boots once you get into hiking for which your current boots were clearly not intended.
- When choosing new shoes for your vacations do it by the following steps:
1.Enter your foot into the shoe with the laces unfastened if there are some. Stand up straight and push your foot forward into the toe of the shoe. You should be able to slip your index finger between your heel and the heel of the shoe. Do this for both shoes.
2.Sit down and lace both shoes. As you do so your heel should move backwards filling the space your index finger created.
3.Stand up and walk around.
4.Assure that your toes do not touch the front of the shoe. If they do then you should go for a larger sized shoe.
5.Assure that your toes do not touch the top of the shoe. If they do then you will need a shoe with a larger (front-side) volume.
6.As you walk the heel of your foot and the heel of the shoe should move together in harmony. The heel of your foot should not slip out of the heel of your shoe (heel lift). If you experience heel lift then your shoes are either too large in size or the shape of the arch and heel cup are incompatible with the shape of your feet.
- Do not bring with you shoes that are about to be broken.
- In some of your shoes you may not feel comfortable enough. But you think they are still good for vacations. In this case try to improve the performance of the shoes by inserting padding, cushioning or any additional support that you may find in shops. It is important to wear shoes that support your feet and allow easy movement.
- Take care of your feet every evening. When you spend all the day on your feet exploring new lands and culture they need to be treated to let you continue your vacation program the next day. So soak your feet each evening. Lavender bath is the best for this purpose. Exfoliate and moisturize your feet to get rid of dead skin. And relax!
- Finally, bring with you a blister kit.
And enoy your vacations! Vacations are vacations!
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