Bunions create as much comment and discussion as they do pain for their 'owners'. Let's assume that your bunions are bony lumps. First ask yourself are they getting bigger and more painful? Being disappointed with the look of your feet is not reason enough for surgery. Possibly you have some underlying arthritis and the joint is painful at every movement and it is seriously affecting your quality of life. Rheuma-surgery,as it is known is becoming more appropriate nowadays. Another cause for concern is if the big toe is deviating away towards the smaller toes so much that your foot is beginning to look like a tennis racquet.
Sweaty feet affect everybody at some time of their lives. The complaint can be seasonal -worse in the warmer months – but can be present at any time of year. The medical term is hyperhidrosis (excessive sweat production) and if there is an accompanying bad odour, it is called bromidrosis.
Thousands of South African children go back to school tomorrow. How many with foot pain?
We don't know the facts, because the research hasn't been done. But as children grow, so do their feet. So it's a safe bet that many feet will be pushed into shoes that were bought at the beginning of the school year in January and are too small 6 months later in July.
Tomorrow morning sees the start of the first Diabetic Foot Working Group (DFWG) Congress in Johannesburg. In South Africa it is also a long weekend – meaning that Monday June 16 is a National Holiday, when we remember the youth of SA and their part in the struggle against apartheid. Especially the riots which broke out on June 16 1976.


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