Don’t let Halloween Play a Trick on Your Feet
Want to avoid freaky Halloween feet at the end of trick or treating with the kids? From trips and falls to foot and heel pain, there are so many ways this ghoulish night can impact your foot health. So, to stay pain free and enjoy the festivities, just follow these seven tips from our podiatrist serving Westfield, Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers and Zionsville, Ind.
7 Halloween Foot Safety Tips
Choose warm—and supportive foot gear. By the end of October, the nights can be chilly—especially if you plan to spend hours trick-or-treating. To avoid painful chills, choose weather appropriate and supportive winter boots or insulated athletic shoes.
Carefully choose your socks. Warmth is important but go too warm and your feet may get sweaty, increasing your risk for fungal infections. Materials such as wool (specifically Merino wool) and synthetics such as nylon and Lycra do a better job at keeping feet dryer and preventing athlete’s foot. Also, be careful about the texture and thickness of your socks, since a textured or bulky sock can rub against shoes and lead to blisters.
Consider weather conditions. If it’s raining, make sure to choose waterproof boots or shoes for your Halloween footwear. But, since rainboots are far less supportive than other forms of footwear, you may need to spend less time on your feet in these conditions.
Be smart about costumes. Even if children’s costumes come with novelty footwear, make sure that they swap them out for supportive athletic shoes when it’s time to leave the house. Otherwise, kids have a higher chance of falling and sustaining injury and will almost certainly end the night with serious foot pain.
Adult costumes matter too. No matter how great they look, limit heel heights to 1 ½ inches for Halloween costumes. Even if you’re simply staying home and handing out candy, spending hours in stilettoes is a bad idea, and will increase your risk for future complications such as bunions and hammertoes.
Stop for lace checks. Once you’re out for trick or treating, make sure to regularly tie and check children’s shoe laces. Between the night’s excitement and many sugar rushes, it’s easy for an untied lace to go unnoticed, leading to trips, falls and painful foot injuries.
Also check costume length. Many kids’ costumes start dragging on the ground as the night wears on, again increasing the risk for trips and falls. Watch for hanging hemlines and stop to make any necessary adjustments before getting back on the Halloween trick or treat trail.
After Halloween foot pain is a scary—but not unusual—problem. If November 1 rolls in and your feet need a little TLC, contact us to schedule an immediate appointment with our podiatrist, Dr. David Sullivan.