Daily Foot and Leg Skin Checks

Almost every serious foot problem in circulation disease starts as something small that was visible days or weeks earlier. A two-minute daily look is the single highest-value habit on this site.

The daily check

1. Tops of the feet and toes. Color, swelling, cuts, blisters.
2. Soles and heels. Use a mirror on the floor, or your phone camera, or ask someone. If you cannot see them, this is the part that gets missed — and it is where the important wounds are.
3. Between every toe. Soft white macerated skin, cracks, or an itchy scaly rash. The fourth web space is the usual offender.
4. Around and under the nails. Redness, discharge, an ingrowing edge.
5. Feel the temperature with the back of your hand and compare left with right. A newly warm foot with swelling can be an early sign of a problem, particularly in a foot with reduced sensation.
6. Note anything new and photograph it, so change is visible rather than remembered.

Do it at the same time every day — after a shower, or when you take your shoes off in the evening. The habit is worth more than the technique.

Skin care

• Wash daily in lukewarm water, and dry carefully — especially between the toes. Test water temperature with your hand or elbow, never your foot, if sensation is reduced.
• Moisturize the tops and soles with a plain, fragrance-free emollient. Dry skin cracks, and cracks let infection in.
• Not between the toes. Moisture trapped there causes maceration and fungal infection.
• Do not soak. Long soaks soften and weaken skin, and hot water is a burn risk in a foot that cannot feel it.
• Treat athlete’s foot properly rather than ignoring it — the cracks it creates are a genuine entry point for cellulitis.

Nails and calluses

If you have diabetes, reduced sensation, or known arterial disease, nail and callus care belongs with a professional. Bathroom scissors, razor blades and pharmacy corn removers are a common route to a wound in a foot that cannot feel what is happening. Medicated corn plasters contain acid and are a particular hazard — they do not distinguish between callus and healthy skin.

Callus itself is worth taking seriously. It forms where pressure is too high, and pressure high enough to build callus is pressure high enough to break skin underneath it. Callus with a dark spot in it is often a wound that has already started below the surface.

Footwear

• Check inside your shoes before every wear. A stone, a seam, a folded insole, a child’s toy. This is not an over-cautious ritual; it is a recurring cause of serious wounds.
• Buy later in the day, when feet are at their largest.
• Depth matters as much as length and width — the toes need room above as well as in front.
• Treat any rub or red mark as information about the shoe, not something to break in. Shoes do not stretch faster than skin breaks.
• Never barefoot, indoors or out, if sensation is reduced. Slippers with a proper sole indoors.
• New shoes, short wear at first — an hour or two, then check the feet.

Common questions

How do I check my soles if I cannot reach or see?

A long-handled mirror, or a mirror flat on the floor. A phone camera on selfie mode works well and lets you zoom in. And asking someone is a perfectly good answer — it takes thirty seconds and it is what family members are usually glad to help with.

Is a foot spa or paraffin bath safe?

With reduced sensation or poor circulation, generally no. Heat is the problem — a temperature that feels pleasant to a hand can burn a foot that cannot register it, and the resulting wound is exactly the kind that struggles to heal.

Can I cut my own toenails?

If your sensation and circulation are normal and you can see and reach them comfortably, yes — straight across, not down the sides. With diabetes, numbness or known artery disease, professional care is the safer route.

How often should a professional look at my feet?

It depends on risk. People with diabetes are generally advised to have an annual foot check at minimum, and considerably more often with neuropathy, deformity, poor circulation or a history of ulceration. Ask what interval applies to you specifically.

Written by Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS. Published 20 September 2026. General education, not medical advice.