Items filtered by date: June 2011

It is that perfect time of summer to head from Columbus, Ohio to the nearby beach at Alum Creek State Park, or your favorite local pool. While you may be looking great in your new bathing suit, you want your feet to also look healthy when your toes are on display for everyone to see.

If your toes are not the translucent, shiny nails that you would want to see, and are instead are becoming thickened, and discolored this could be a sign that you have developed a fungus in your toenails. The nails will become brittle, flaky and chalky and the nail discoloration can range from yellow to brown or even black if the fungus developed after a nail was bruised.

Especially in the summer, prevention is critical to avoiding a toenail fungus. A toenail fungus can initially be picked up as Athlete’s foot or a foot fungus on the skin, before it invades the nails. Fungus can be transmitted from skin cells that have been shed, which naturally occurs from both healthy and unhealthy skin. Fungus also thrives growing in places that are damp, dark and warm. Based off of these ways that a nail fungus is transmitted, it is important to keep you feet dry and clean and avoid being barefoot in wet areas where many other people are barefoot, including locker rooms, pools, and water parks.

While some fungal infections can often be treated with over the counter creams, fungal toenails require seeing a physician for treatment that will actually get rid of the fungus before it becomes painful. Because nails grow relatively slowly and to cure toenail fungus you want to make sure it is completely gone, prescription oral medications typically require being taken for at least 12 weeks, with some medications requiring even longer. While often helpful in clearing up toenail fungus, patients should know that there are some possibly serious risks involved with taking an oral antifungal medication, including liver and kidney problems. There is also a more recent FDA approved, less risky and less time-consuming way to treat toenail fungus called the Pinpointe Foot Laser. Utilizing the Pinpointe Foot Laser to remove fungus from a toenail is painless, takes only 30-40 minutes and has no health restrictions or adverse side effects. Whatever treatment option you choose, it is important to take care of your toes and call your podiatrist at the first sign of abnormal changes to keep your toenails healthy and ready to be shown off during summer and all year round!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.

CALL 614-885-FEET (3338) for an Appointment with a Podiatrist in Columbus, OH

• 1-3 Nails $500
• 3-5 Nails $600
• 6-10 Nails $700

(COLUMBUS, OH 6/22/11) Columbus Podiatry & Surgery announced today that foot and ankle specialist, Sarah Abshier, DPM, will be practicing at their Columbus, Ohio office. Dr. Abshier specializes in the surgical and non-surgical treatments of the foot and ankle, including conditions such as foot and ankle trauma, sports injuries, heel pain and bunions. She received her DPM degree at Temple University in Pennsylvania and completed her surgical residency program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton. Dr. Abshier is trained in forefoot surgery, as well as reconstructive foot and ankle surgery.

; to common foot problems such as general foot pain, ankle pain, neuropathy, plantar fasciitis, nail fungus, athletes foot, bunions, plantar warts and ingrown toenails. In an effort to teach others about preventative foot and ankle care, Dr. Abshier has provided many presentations and educational videos.

At Columbus Podiatry & Surgery, Dr. Bhatia and Dr. Abshier believe that a doctor and patient become a team throughout treatment and recovery. They want patients to be informed about podiatric problems and treatments, because informed patients make better decisions about their health and well being. “I look forward to seeing you in our office. Hopefully, I can give you the same support and treatment that my doctors were always able to give me. And I look forward to having you leave with a smile.” says Dr. Abshier.

Columbus Podiatry & Surgery offers a number of advanced services beneficial to the community. To name a few, they offer Digital X-Ray, Ultrasound, Vascular Diagnostic Testing, Electromagnetic Neurovascular Therapy, Digital Gait Scan, Custom Orthotics and a Laser for Nail Fungus. The PinPointe FootLaser offers a pain free option to treating nail fungus. The Laser has been proven to be more successful than topical agents and safer than oral medications.

Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is under the direction of Animesh (Andy) Bhatia, D.P.M., C.W.S. Dr. Bhatia is a licensed practicing Podiatrist in the state of Ohio. He has had extensive training in wound care and is Board Certified as a Certified Wound Specialist (C.W.S). Dr. Bhatia hopes, “The Surgical Suite in a pleasant new office environment helps ensure that patients have the best possible treatment experience at Columbus Podiatry & Surgery.”

The podiatrists at Columbus Podiatry & Surgery are proud to provide a wealth of patient education materials online at www.ColumbusFoot.com. If you or a loved one is suffering from foot or ankle pain and would like to visit a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio; please call 614-885-FEET (3338). Appointments can also be scheduled through www.ColumbusFoot.com/appointment.

This past weekend around Columbus was the 30^th annual Pride Festival. While there was a wide variety of unusual attire at this parade, shoes are one fashion accessory to choose carefully before heading out to any summer parade or festival. While the look of the shoes may be of utmost importance to many fashionistas, choosing shoes that provide comfort can make your day much more enjoyable.

Summer means more shoe options including flip flops and a variety of other sandals. Knowing which type of shoe is healthies twas a topic of a recent article on Oprah’s website and can help to make better choices when shopping for new shoes. Surprisingly, ballet flat shoes were ranked as the most dangerous type of shoe. Part of the reason for this ranking is that many people would consider a flat to be more comfortable and healthy for feet than a higher shoe and they then over-wear them. A flat has as little arch support as the similarly dangerous flip-flop, but ballet flats also put pressure on the sides of the foot, the back of the heel and the tips of the toes. Extreme lack of any arch support in flip flops or flats can lead to foot pain in individuals with flat feet or overpronation. Because they do not enclose the entire foot, flip flops can give some relief to those suffering from the pain of bunions or calluses rubbing against shoes. Both ballet flats and similarly structured flat styles of sneakers such as “Chuck Taylors” that do enclose the foot will not only aggravate these conditions on the sides of the feet and toes, but their rigid heel areas can cause a Haglund’s deformity. In this condition, a bursa over the heel bone or calcaneus becomes irritated from being rubbed against and causes pain.

Of the elevated shoes discussed in the article, stilettos were not surprisingly chosen as the most dangerous. A better choice for an occasion requiring a more formal shoe would be a wedge. If the wedge has a cork or raffia sole, it will offer more shock absorption and thus can help prevent joint damage. Wedges also offer slightly more stability than a stiletto, which can help to avoid ankle sprains. While a properly fitted athletic shoe with adequate support will often be the optimal choice for foot health, wearing them at every occasion may not always be possible. It is good to be aware and evaluate other shoe options to make healthy choices about your feet. Orthotics can also be helpful in making an uncomfortable shoe more bearable!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.

This past Tuesday, June 7, I read an article in the Columbus Dispatch about a local man who was successfully treated for sepsis at the Ohio State University Medical Center. Sepsis is a concern for any doctor to watch for in his patients, but is especially important to watch for in a podiatric setting because it occurs more commonly in diabetic individuals and often involves the feet or legs.

Unfortunately for the man mentioned in the article, even though his life was saved he still lost parts of his hands and one half of each foot to gangrene. In sepsis, a bacterial infection has spread through the body in the bloodstream. This triggers a body-wide immune response that creates tiny clots, inhibiting blood supply to tissues that require blood to remain vital and functioning. In diabetic patients, whose blood supply is often already compromised to their lower extremities, steps must be taken to prevent infections and thus sepsis and gangrene as well. While the man in the article did not know where his infection came from and his first sign of an infection was a sore throat, hospitalized patients and those recovering from surgery are often at the highest risk for sepsis. All patients, but especially diabetic patients, need to avoid any open wounds, cuts or lesions on their legs or feet. If a wound goes unnoticed, it may become infected with bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus which can worsen and spread to become sepsis if not treated.

To prevent wound infections and sepsis, self-foot exams are very important. Identify any breaks in the skin as soon as possible. Take proper care to clean and bandage wounds and watch for abnormal changes. Pain, redness, swelling and discharge are all possible signs of infection that you should contact your podiatrist to examine immediately. If you can visibly see an infection spread from one part of the foot to another, this is also cause for prompt medical attention. If an infection is present and you develop a fever, elevated heart or respiratory rate this is indicative that the infection has spread to become sepsis and treatment becomes even more urgent. The earlier an infection is stopped the better the treatment outcome will be for the patient. Hopefully patient awareness will increase thanks to survivor stories such as the one featured in the Columbus Dispatch to prevent amputations and save lives!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.

This past Wednesday, June 1, National Running Day was celebrating by runners of all levels across the country. Only a few minutes from the office here at Columbus Podiatry and Surgery, there were meetings in both Worthington and Dublin, Ohio to have an extra celebratory run and train for upcoming races.

All runners out there know that foot and leg soreness and sometimes pain can go along with running, but when pain becomes an aggravation to the runner, they need to contact their podiatrist to prevent more serious issues from developing. One of the most common athletic injuries seen in both the foot bones and shin bone, or tibia is a stress fracture. Stress fractures are a small crack in the surface of the bone caused by overuse. Running is a common trigger for this type of injury because the repetitive motion of each stride on the foot can allow too much pressure to be absorbed by an area of bone. This results in a fracture that can often be difficult to conclusively diagnose without taking an x-ray or bone scan. By obtaining an image of the bone through one of these methods, a stress fracture in the shin can often be differentiated from an even more common, but less serious running injury called a shin splint. In a shin splint, the bone itself is not damaged, but the area of muscle attachments on the bone has become irritated and painful.

Runners should take measures, not only on National Running Day, but everyday to try to prevent stress fractures. Properly fitting, supportive running shoes are a key to prevention. Gradually building up your training and adding on miles slowly also can help in avoiding both stress fractures and shin splints. If even with these measures you begin to feel a persistent, localized pain in your foot or leg, a stress fracture could be the culprit. Taking recovery time from sports and icing the area can often help to lessen or alleviate more minor causes of pains. If pain continues, it is important to remember that the earlier a stress fracture is diagnosed; the quicker the recovery will be and the better the chances are that it can be treated without surgery. By taking proper care of feet and visiting a podiatrist at the first signs of injury, runners can limit what they often despise more than anything else: having to take time off from running!!

Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885 FEET (3338) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.