jenniferlee Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 One more question for all you knowledgeable folks :) My son has 5 or 6 little-ish cracks in the skin in his big toe. One is actually pretty nasty looking. No infection, but they hurt, obviously. I have told him to wear shoes and socks whenever he goes outside to help them heal up, but he hasn't exactly followed my suggestion all that well.. I'm just wondering, is there a great way to treat this? I would use vaseline or something, but he is supposed to stay away from all petroleum products. Thanks for any tried and true ideas. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Cod liver oil. If I stop giving it, my son gets cracks in his fingers and toes. I give it and the cracks go away (after they heal of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Athlete's foot? I just use the ointment recommended for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 My son's fingers and toes look like this, but not quite this bad except that in my son the red parts are actually cracked open. It's a kind of eczema. Don't look if you're squeamish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 I don't think it's athlete's foot, and yes he did use to have eczema, and does have dry skin in general, which is how they got started I'm sure. I just not sure what to do about them now to get them to heal. I am "supposed" to be giving him CLO daily, better get back on that... Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) If he has white cracks running up his feet (often looks like white powder), and if he has itching/burning/odor, you may want to first treat for athletes foot. If you think it could be this, then make sure to treat for the length of time on the package of medicine. If it is not athletes foot. Then try washing his feet before bed, dry lightly with a towel and then slather on Bag Balm and socks at night. If he will agree to another light treatment in the morning, it would be best. But if he walks around barefoot, you will want to make sure his feet are dry before he tracks Bag Balm on the carpet. If he has a lot of calluses then a cream with Urea may help. ETA: There used to be a product on the market called Diabetic Heal Cream. If it is still available, it is a great product for this problem. We used to sell it a lot in the pharmacy but then we couldn't get it any longer. We weren't sure what happened to it. Another thought for during the day when you can't get him to wear shoes is to try one of the lotions that form a water resistant barrier. There are several on the market but they are not cheap. This may help him to avoid some of the contaminates in the soil he encounters every day. Edited July 10, 2009 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I don't think it's athlete's foot, and yes he did use to have eczema, and does have dry skin in general, which is how they got started I'm sure. I just not sure what to do about them now to get them to heal. I am "supposed" to be giving him CLO daily, better get back on that...Jen Dd2 gets very dry skin. I give her liquid CLO daily and it makes a huge difference. I recently switched her to gummies and it didn't help at all. We had to go back to the liquid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 just yesterday the pediatrician recommended that I open up a vitamin E tab and smear it across the areas on his toes with cracks. I haven't tried it yet, but that's where I'm going to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 If he has a lot of calluses then a cream with Urea may help. But don't use this until the cracks are fully healed. I second the CLO recommendation. I have horrible, horrible dry feet, and the only thing that has ever worked to keep them from cracking is a weekly or biweekly treatment with a PedEgg and daily heavy lotion. He might not agree to the PedEgg, but that's what takes for me to get the dead skin cells off so I can begin to treat the underlying healthy skin. It's not pleasant, but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 I can't give him bag balm because it's petroleum based. I will try the vit e oil, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for all the suggestions. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I can't give him bag balm because it's petroleum based. I will try the vit e oil, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for all the suggestions.Jen Coconut Oil is a very light natural anti fungal. It may work also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Don't laugh! Our middle son had a HUGE crack on the bottom of his foot that was about 4 cm wide and 3 inches long, it was nasty (he was 1 yr old). The dermatologist told me to glob on lotion of my choice and cover it overnight with duct tape (yes, the tape you buy at the hardware store lol). I thought he was nuts, but it worked! It took a couple of weeks to completely go away because of the size of the crack, but we did not have to use creams or ointments and there were no side effects other than sticky tape on his foot. That was 4 yrs ago and he has had no further trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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