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Orthotics + Correct Shoe Fit = Exercise Ability + Weight LossWe receive a lot of information about eating healthily and exercising to achieve sustainable weight loss and good health, but what if your exercise ability is hindered because of hip, knee, ankle and/or foot problems? It is often assumed that when you lose weight, the…

Don’t allow diabetes and its foot related problems to immobilise you!   WAIKATO PODIATRY CAN HELP YOU   Diabetes is a big problem in New Zealand as well as around the world! Kinds of Diabetes: Type I: Auto-immune, abrupt symptomatic onset Type II: 85-90% of NZ diabetes – slow onset, often with obesity and inactivity…

Gout affects 14% of Pacific Island men and around 5% of European men. It is more frequent in people with diabetes. We may be in the midst of the third great gout epidemic of western civilisation. The first epidemic occurred in the Roman Empire, the second at the height of the British Empire. Risk factors…

A blister is a pocket of fluid under the skin. This fluid most frequently consists of plasma which is a serum within the blood made up of mostly water. However, in some instances, a blister can contain blood or even pus if an infection becomes present. Blisters are almost always associated with friction especially when…

Corns Corns (heloma) are multiplied skin cells at a focal point of pressure. They usually occur around the joints of toes, in between toes from rubbing, as well as on the soles of the feet where there is excess pressure. They may also occur under a section of callus. Essentially, corns are a mass of…

An ingrown toenail is a general term used to describe any pain that occurs around the nail area. Ingrown toenails can happen for a number of reasons: a stubbed toe; a very curved nail that allows dirt to accumulate; a corn down the nail edge. The most typical cause is that the nail has been…

Fungal infections of the foot are extremely common – about 20% of the population are likely to be affected by this problem at some time in their lives. Fungal toenails are a section of this group. There are over a hundred thousand different species of fungi, but only a very select few that will colonise…

A small skin lesion caused by a virus found on the bottom of the foot or toes, which closely resembles, and is often confused with, a corn. Its size is usually under 1cm in diameter but can grow larger and can also occur in clusters (mosaic warts). Verrucae pedis are caused by the human papilloma…