Foot care for children and teenagers
RDaSH
Doncaster Community Integrated Services
Foot care for kids
Nail trimming
It’s never too early to learn to care for
our feet. Foot care includes bathing
your feet, trimming toenails and
telling your parent or guardian of
any sore / irritated areas on the foot.
Children with diabetes have to pay
extra attention to their feet and need
to seek help quickly from their GP
or Health & Care Professions Council
(HCPC) registered podiatrist if they
discover a foot problem.
• Get someone to cut your toenails
until you are old enough to do it
safely yourself
Wash your feet every day
• Clean your feet, especially
between the toes on a daily basis
using a soap-free body wash and
warm water
• Dry well, including between the
toes
• Apply a moisturiser, such as E45 if
your skin tends to be dry or hard
(do not apply between the toes)
• Check for anything unusual or
painful and tell an adult.
2 | Foot care for children and teenagers
• Cut your toenails after having a
bath or a shower, while the nails
are softer, using nail clippers to
cut the nail straight across. Only
round the edges slightly to avoid
catching the next toe
• Leave a little bit of the white part
showing, avoiding cutting them
too short, which can lead to
permanently deformed or ingrown
toenails.
Footwear
• It is important that you have your
feet measured at regular intervals,
every six weeks or sooner if you
feel that your shoes have become
too tight
• You should have room to wiggle
your toes, but at the same time
don’t buy shoes to ‘grow into’, as
shoes that are too big can cause
as much trouble as shoes that are
too small
• Pick the right style of footwear
for the activity. Trainers for sports;
lace or buckle shoe, with low heel
and leather upper with rubber sole
for walking
• Try to wear socks made from
cotton or wool. Man-made
materials encourage feet to sweat
(see leaflet ‘Sweaty Feet’ for more
information).
www.rdash.nhs.uk | 3
Ingrown toenails
• These are nails that have grown
into the skin, usually down one or
both sides of the nail
• There are many causes. Nails cut
too short or damaged by play,
sports, dropping an object on to
the toe, or poor fitting footwear
are a few examples
• They are usually quite painful,
especially when wearing shoes, or
the pressure of bedclothes, or if
someone accidentally knocks the
toe
• The skin around the toe can look
swollen and inflamed (red), and is
often hot to the touch
• It may leak yellow fluid called pus.
Bathe the toe in a bowl of warm
water with a handful of table salt
for no more than five minutes,
once or twice a day. Apply a
dressing to keep the toe clean
• See a HCPC registered podiatrist
as soon as possible. Bring an adult
with parental responsibility if you
are under 16 years of age.
Calluses
• These are hard, thickened skin,
yellowish in colour, which may be
caused by badly fitting footwear.
Foot shape and how you walk can
also cause pressure or friction,
which can develop into a corn or a
callus
• If painful, tell your parent /
guardian who can arrange for
you to see a podiatrist. An emery
foot file or pumice can be used
4 | Foot care for children and teenagers
once or twice a week to help
stop the hard skin building up. Be
careful not to file too hard. Use
a moisturiser daily and wear well
fitting shoes.
Verruca
• A verruca is a virus that causes
a build up of hard skin and is
sometimes described as having a
‘cauliflower’ appearance
• May contain tiny black dots. These
are small blood vessels called
capillaries that have been pushed
up to the surface by the virus. This
explains why they bleed easily
• You are more likely to catch a
verruca if you are barefoot in
communal areas
• They are a type of infection. This
means you can pass them on to
someone else. Cover with a plaster
when swimming and don’t share
towels
• Sometimes you can have one on
its own, or you may have lots of
them in one area of the foot
• The average life span of a
verruca is about two – five years.
Therefore if it is not painful, it is
not necessary to treat
• If it is painful, see your GP or
podiatrist for advice on various
treatments available.
www.rdash.nhs.uk | 5
Black Toenails
Athlete’s Foot
• These are caused by injury, which
may be one direct injury from
dropping an object, but could also
occur from badly fitting footwear
• This is a skin infection caused by
a fungus. You are more likely to
develop athlete’s foot if you are
barefoot in communal areas
• The discolouration is caused by a
bleed under the toenail
• Use non-slip poolside footwear
• Open-toed footwear may be more
comfortable and avoidance of
sports is recommended until the
pain in the toe subsides
• The nail may loosen and possibly
fall off. A new nail will eventually
grow back (it can take up to a year
for a big toenail), but sometimes
it can grow back permanently
damaged or thickened
• It is advisable to see a HCPC
registered podiatrist if you are
worried.
• Change socks once a day (more
often if you suffer from sweaty
feet) and alternate footwear
• Take shoes and socks off when at
home to allow the air to circulate
around your feet if they tend to be
sweaty
• Symptoms can include burning
and intense itching. The skin may
be red, broken or bleeding, and
can be flaky and sometimes soggy
between the toes. It can be seen
on other areas of the foot as dry
skin, sometimes with tiny blisters
• Athlete’s foot is an infection and
can be passed on to others. Don’t
share towels or walk around
barefoot. Wear open-toed sandals
when at home
6 | Foot care for children and teenagers
• See the pharmacist or GP
for a preparation to clear
up the infection and follow
the instructions given. Once
the infection has resolved, it
is recommended to use an
antifungal preparation once a
week as a preventative measure,
as athlete’s foot can be quite
stubborn to cure and can quickly
reoccur.
• They will go away on their own.
Stop wearing footwear that makes
your foot sore and protect the
area with a plaster until it heals
• Let your parent / guardian know.
You may need a bigger shoe size.
Blisters
• Blisters occur during active play
when the feet become hot and
sweaty, rubbing on the inside of
the shoe
• Fluid fills up a space within the
layers of the skin, like a balloon, to
try to protect the area
• Do not be tempted to burst the
blister as this could lead to a
painful infection
Podiatry services
East Laith Gate House
East Laith Gate
Doncaster
DN1 1JE
Tel: 01302 640050
www.rdash.nhs.uk | 7
This information is correct at the time of publishing
Last Reviewed: September 2012
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