With the warmer weather really starting here on the East coast Podiatrists are into the busiest time of the year. With summer sports, vacations and of course sandals. Sandals are to feet what the bathing suit is to the body. Your feet are seen by the world at this time of year and people want them to look there best.

One of the most common problems that are painful as well are unsightly corns. A corn is a thickening of the outer layer of skin on your toes. Corns can range from a slight thickening of skin to a very painful hard bump. They often form on top of buckled toe joints (hammer toes). If your toes curl under, corns may appear on the tips of the toes. It is possible to get corns on the end of a toe if it rubs against your shoe. Corns also form between toes from overlapping or from adjacent toe pressure. Corns are the body's response to friction or pressure against the skin.

Treatment for corns weather mild or severe needs to start with understanding the cause of the problem. If corns are mild, reducing friction may be helpful. Making sure that your shoes fit properly with plenty of toe room, makes hammer toes less likely to rub against the shoe. In more sever cases, treating skin buildup may be necessary. A podiatrist may trim away the outer layers of skin that form the corn. Often orthoses (custom made shoe inserts) are prescribed to correct the toe position and eliminate the mechanism of the hammer toe formation. If a bone or joint is deformed causing severe or very painful corns, sometimes surgical correction is needed. In the vast majority of cases surgery to improve position is an outpatient procedure. Your podiatric physician may shave or cut away excess bone or release tendons to realign a joint.

As with any other medical problem the treatment of corns requires understanding of the cause of the problem. A variety of solutions that start simply and move up in complexity as the situation warrants. Corns are very treatable both from an appearance and functional perspective. So show of those toes with pride! (One tip if you want to get a jump on warm weather you should consult your podiatrist in the winter so we can have time to solve the problem)

Dr. Ravick is past president of the DC Podiatric Medical Association, a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association, in private practice at Capital Podiatry Associates since 1980 and often quoted in national and local media.

Founded in 1912, the American Podiatric Medical Association is the nation’s leading professional society for foot and ankle specialists, with membership of over 10,000 doctors of podiatric medicine. For more information on athletic footwear you can visit the APMA website or call 1-800-FOOTCARE to request a free brochure.