Unfortunately, accidents or injuries to your feet do happen, but when they do, prompt and appropriate treatment becomes important in the healing process. Here are
some general tips one should consider to keep the problem at bay before being seen by a trained health care professional, such as a Podiatrist in Smyrna, GA.
How to Decrease Swelling in the Foot or Ankle
Whether it is swelling in the foot, ankle pain, or foot pain, there are key steps you can take to reduce the feet swelling and decrease pain in the foot and ankle.
Rest: It is important to have the affected area completely rested and, if necessary, splinted in some fashion to ensure further movement or weight does not cause any additional damage. The traditional “I’ll walk it (the injury) off” may not be such a good idea.
Ice: It is extremely important to ice the affected area to relieve some of the inflammatory processes the body puts into play after an injury. This is also a potent pain killer after an injury.
Compression: Some gentile compression is advised after an injury. An Ace bandage applied not too tightly, thus avoiding strangling the foot, is a proper method.
Elevation: Elevation of the injured area above your waist level is another helpful way, just as the others above, to diminish the swelling, inflammation, and pain to the injured area.
All of these treatments applied together are easily remembered by a simple name, the RICE method.
How to Treat Cuts or Scrapes on the Foot, Foot Blisters, and Burns on the Foot.
These additional helpful tips for other types of injuries should always be kept on one’s mind when giving first aid to a fresh injury or accident involving your feet.
1. In the instance of cuts or scrapes, the wound should be cleansed with a hydrogen peroxide solution, kept elevated until the bleeding is brought under control by using direct pressure on the wound itself, and dressed with clean dressings until the injury can be seen by a health care professional.
2. Blisters and burns should be kept cleansed, kept dry, and dressed with clean dressings with antibiotic ointment. The temptation to bust blisters should be avoided.
3. Foreign objects such as splinters, glass, metals, etc. should be sterilely, carefully and professionally removed to ensure they are not pushed into the body further or, worse yet, broken off, making the beginnings of a serious infection possible.
About Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia and Dr. Nathan Schwartz
Dr. Nathan Schwartz is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine at the Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia with offices throughout metro Atlanta, including Smyrna, Georgia. The mission of Dr. Schwartz and the Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia is to provide the highest level of podiatric care to every patient who enters their practice.
For more information concerning ankle and foot first aid, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Schwartz for further evaluation, please call our Smyrna, GA office at 770-434-7078. Also, you can click HERE to make an appointment online now!
