Signs You Should Visit Your New Hampshire Podiatrist NOW

Dr. Brian Nagy | April 12th, 2018

Posted In: General Foot Pain

Minor foot problems often resolve with conservative at-home treatment. But if you have a serious foot problem, the effectiveness of your treatment and speed of your recovery sometimes depends on how quickly you seek help from your New Hampshire podiatrist. Bunions, corns and calluses, plantar warts, ingrown toenails, and occasional or minor pain can usually be treated at home. Things you can try to address these problems include over-the-counter pain medication, foot soaks, resting the foot, icing, topical medications, pads, and shoe inserts. Refer to the Nagy Footcare blog for information about specific minor foot problems and pain.  However, there are times when you need to schedule with your podiatrist right away.

It’s Time to See Your New Hampshire Podiatrist NOW

There are times when it’s important to contact your podiatrist immediately. Some foot problems will only get worse if not treated, or will benefit from the earliest possible intervention. Serious foot problems include arthritis; broken ankle, foot, or toes; problems associated with diabetes; flatfoot; fracture of the ankle, foot, or toe; infections including osteomyelitis; mallet toe and hammertoe; misalignment; neuropathy; Paget’s disease; tendinitis; tumors; and more. How do you know whether you’re suffering from a minor foot problem or a serious one? The following are signs that you need to see your New Hampshire now.

• Persistent pain and other symptoms that haven’t resolved within a few days of home treatment require an immediate visit to your podiatrist. If you notice aching or minor pain that doesn’t go away after five days, you could be experiencing a fractured or broken ankle, foot, or toe. You may need an x-ray, splint, or even surgery to fix the problem. Pinched nerves and other problems can cause severe pain that can be treated by your podiatrist with injections. Flatfeet, misalignment, tendinitis, and hammertoes can be treated with minimally invasive surgery that is performed right in your podiatrist’s office. If you wait to treat these conditions, your treatment may become more complicated and your recovery may take longer.
• Severe pain can indicate that you have broken some part of your foot, injured your Achilles tendon, or torn a ligament. Surgery is likely necessary in these cases and you need to see your podiatrist as soon as possible for a proper diagnosis and appropriate medical response.
• Fever is usually a sign that you have an infection. An infection requires immediate attention from your New Hampshire podiatrist so you can find out what is causing it. You will need to take an antibiotic if you have any kind of infection. Foot problems associated with infection include ingrown toenails, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis.
• Diabetes complications are serious. It is common to get sores on your feet if you have diabetes. When a sore becomes an open wound that doesn’t heal, oozes pus, or feels warm to the touch, you may have a diabetes-related infection or ulcer. You should seek treatment right away in order to prevent the problem from getting worse. Diabetic patients also prone to developing peripheral neuropathy. Symptoms include numbness or sensitivity to touch, tingling, cramping, pain, and loss of reflexes. Because peripheral neuropathy is felt in the legs and feet first, see your podiatrist as soon as you notice these symptoms.
• Inability to put pressure on your foot is a sign that you may have sprained, broken, or fractured something; or have neuropathy, plantar fasciitis, or overpronation. You may require a splint or even minimally invasive surgery to solve the problem. Overpronation can lead to serious pain – and not just in your feet. HyProCure® treatment performed by your certified HyProCure® podiatrist can treat overpronation caused by misalignment, and minimize or eliminate pain in your feet, knees, and hips.
• Tingling or numbness on the bottom of your feet is a sign of neuropathy and can occur even if you do not have diabetes. It is also caused by injury, infection, and hereditary conditions. See your podiatrist in New Hampshire right away if you have numbness or tingling on the bottom of your feet in order to prevent the problem from getting worse.

Contact Nagy Footcare and Get Help Now

Whether you have pain that is severe or lasts more than five days, are having difficulty walking, can’t put pressure on your feet, have pain accompanied by fever, have sores on your feet associated with diabetes that are not healing, or feel tingling or numbness on the bottom of your feet, it’s time to call Nagy Footcare NOW. Bunions, calluses, hammertoes, warts, and other foot conditions that fail to resolve after you’ve tried conservative at-home treatment also require a visit to your New Hampshire podiatrist. At Nagy Footcare, our mission is to provide compassionate care that exceeds your expectations. Contact us today and let us help.

At Nagy Footcare, our best day is when you wake up with no pain.