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A callus on the heel

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
 
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A callus on the heel is caused by prolonged friction of the skin. This can happen due to shoes that are not the right size or poor hygiene, infrequent changing of socks, prolonged standing or walking.

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Causes of calluses on the heels

A callus on the heel appears due to uncomfortable shoes, with rough seams on the inside, incorrect gait, flat feet, in lovers of high heels and those suffering from obesity and edema. Very painful watery blisters appear, which can be treated with medication or physical therapy. In this article, we will consider all possible ways to get rid of this problem.

Symptoms of calluses on the heels

At first, the skin on the heels becomes red, swollen and dry. Then pain appears when pressing and rubbing. And only after that a blister forms, which sooner or later bursts, revealing a red wound surface. Walking becomes impossible. It is better not to let it get to this stage, as it can cause a very strong infection.

Dry callus on the heel

As we age, our skin loses moisture and cannot withstand the daily harmful effects of the environment. Because of this, it is easily damaged, especially on the heels.

Here are some simple ways to cure a heel callus on your own. You can take salt baths. You can go to a beauty salon. They will give you a medical pedicure or use liquid nitrogen to remove it. You can apply an onion soaked in vinegar to the callus. You can cut an aloe leaf and apply it to the callus overnight. You can massage your feet with vegetable oil. Put a few drops of vinegar essence on the callus and cover it with a bandage. After several of these procedures, the callus will disappear. Soap and soda foot baths are also effective. Applying grated raw potatoes to the problem area at night helps. Grind 2 aspirin tablets into powder, apply to the callus and hold for an hour. Lard with garlic also helps well. Grind the garlic and apply it to a piece of lard, apply the “garlic” part to the callus and bandage your foot overnight. You can use a Kalanchoe leaf, peeled from the film. Its pulp is applied to the callus at night. A homemade ointment of baked garlic with butter in a 1:1 ratio also helps. A gruel of calendula leaves and hot water helps get rid of the problem in a few days.

You can also steam your feet in water and tie a lemon peel to the callus overnight.

Take salicylic acid, propolis and 96-degree alcohol in equal quantities and dissolve propolis in alcohol by heating. Add salicylic acid and stir until the consistency of a well-spreadable mixture. Store it in a tightly sealed container.

Heat 50 propolis and the juice of one lemon, store the resulting mixture in the refrigerator. Apply to the callus daily until it falls off.

Apply a ripe tomato to the callus in the morning.

Apply fresh resin to the callus and cover with a bandage. Change the bandage after 24 hours.

Place an egg in a glass of vinegar and wait for about a week until it dissolves completely. Apply the resulting liquid to the callus.

Apply garlic or lemon oil to the callus with a cotton swab and watch it disappear on its own in a few days!

The best way to prevent dry calluses is to take care of your feet and wear comfortable shoes. Especially if you have flat feet. Replenish your vitamin supply, especially A and E. Calluses are also signs of arthritis and osteoarthrosis.

Wet callus on the heel

A wet callus on the heel is formed if you ignore the appearance of a dry callus. The main factor in its appearance is prolonged friction. The slightest touch to a wet callus increases the pain. When squeezed, the blister bursts, forming a wound. Redness, pain and pus indicate an infection. If infected, you need to see a surgeon. He will treat it and apply a bandage.

To avoid blisters on your feet, choose your shoes carefully, try them on, and walk around the store in them before buying. Wear closed shoes with toes. Fight sweaty feet by sprinkling them with talc.

You can puncture a callus if it is very large. Before piercing, hold the needle over a fire.

A good remedy for wet calluses is the Compeed plaster. It just needs to be applied to the wound. Treatment will take 3-4 days. The plaster can be removed if it starts to peel off.

If the blister bursts on its own, cauterize it with brilliant green.

Here are some folk remedies.

Place a plantain leaf on the wound, crushing it in your hands.

A gruel of mashed green peas can also help you. Simply apply it to the callus.

Core callus on the heel

A core callus is a dense formation on the skin that resembles a bump. To treat a core callus, buy a Salipod patch at the pharmacy and stick it exactly to the size of the "cap" of the callus. The callus under the patch comes out together with the core. The indentation that forms from the exit of the core should be sealed with a regular bandage until it disappears.

The core usually develops not immediately, but when the condition is already neglected. If you notice that a core has appeared, steam your foot in water with liquid soap and drop citric acid or celandine juice on the callus and seal the wound with a bactericidal plaster. A small callus can be treated with pumice and lubricated with cream. You can try a callus liquid, but you need to use it carefully, because it is an alkaline solution.

A core callus often occurs if you have driven a splinter under your skin. In this case, it is better to consult a cosmetologist or dermatologist. A podiatrist specializes in treating foot problems. He or she removes the callus using a cutter. Sign up for a hardware pedicure. Sometimes laser treatment or freezing with liquid nitrogen is recommended. Liquid nitrogen is a colorless, odorless liquid. It is applied to the skin for about a minute. To avoid having to deal with this problem, keep your shoes and socks clean and remove splinters in a timely manner. Do not visit a sauna or pool without slippers. The cause of a callus may be a dermatotropic virus, this is how it is transmitted. Calluses can also be caused by orthopedic problems, joint problems, flat feet.

Bone callus on the heel

A bone callus on the heel forms after a fracture has healed. This is not a disease, but a natural process, a reaction of the body aimed at rapid healing of the fracture. To alleviate the condition after a fracture, doctors recommend limiting loads, conducting courses of magnetotherapy and electrophoresis. All these procedures are prescribed by a traumatologist. A bone callus indicates the beginning of fracture healing. It is very clearly visible on an X-ray.

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Callus on the heel of a child

To cure a callus on a child's heel, you just need to take it and stick it with a bandage. The child's body recovers very quickly, the callus will heal quickly. To prevent calluses from appearing in the future, it is very important to choose shoes for the child made of genuine leather and wide enough. Socks should be cotton and washed as often as possible. Inflammation of the callus can lead to infection.

If the callus does not go away on its own, peel a piece of lemon, apply it to the callus and bandage it. Do this before putting the child to bed, at night. You can also use aloe pulp: just apply a little gruel from crushed leaves of the plant to a cotton pad and bandage it, also better at night, since the child is active during the day. You can also apply a cut fig to the sore spot.

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What to do about calluses on your heels?

A callus on the heels brings us discomfort and pain and gets on our nerves. Especially for women. Ladies really want to have smooth feet. Often a callus mars the joy of buying new shoes. What to do and how to treat such a callus?

The skin can be lubricated with vegetable oil. If a blister appears, it cannot be cut off. You can make a bath with ammonia. Propolis mixed with fat or bread crumb soaked in vinegar also helps. You can also make baths with potassium permanganate. The solution should be slightly pink, and you cannot keep your feet in it for more than 20 minutes. As soon as redness appears, you need to make a bath of soda (2 tablespoons) and 5 drops of chamomile oil. Steam your feet for 20 minutes and cover the abrasion with a bandage for calluses. You can spray the callus with Panthenol spray.

Soak onion peel in vinegar for 14 days and apply to the sore spot.

You can boil a few prunes in milk and apply them to the callus.

To prevent calluses, it is enough to eat 200 g of raw carrots per day. It contains vitamin A, which is so important for the skin. Wear high-quality comfortable shoes, and leave high heels for holidays. In shoes that are not the right size, the foot either fidgets or is very compressed. Use socks made of wool or cotton. Socks should be changed every day. When playing golf or driving a car or bike for a long time, do not forget to wear gloves on your hands. Special gel insoles are sold for calluses.

Here are a few more recipes. Take 50 g of bran and 50 ml of milk and apply the mixture to the callus for half an hour, then lubricate the problem area with sea buckthorn oil.

You can also mix fish oil and aloe juice in a 1:1 ratio. Secure a cotton pad soaked in this mixture with a bandage.

Prepare a decoction of oak bark 1:5 and wrap your leg in a cloth soaked in this decoction.

2 tablespoons of St. John's wort infusion per liter of water will help get rid of calluses, abrasions, corns and cracks. It is enough to simply make foot baths.

Potato peeling baths also help. Take a glass of them per liter of water, boil them, and then, after cooling, put your feet in this water for 25 minutes, then wipe your feet and apply cream. An excellent remedy for fighting calluses and cracks on your feet.

To prevent calluses from appearing, your feet should be regularly treated with pumice and covered with foot cream.

If there is no improvement after a week of treatment, you need to see a doctor. If inflammation and pus appear, surgical cleaning of the wound and application of a bandage are necessary.

Plaster for calluses on the heels

Most often, calluses bother in the summer on the right skin between the toes and on the heels. A callus patch can come to your aid. It is fixed on the skin more reliably than a regular patch, does not peel off and accelerates healing. It is invisible on the skin. It forms a gel environment, which relieves pain. It acts like a second skin.

Ointment for calluses on the heels

Corns on the heels can be removed with the ointment "Super Antimozolin". It contains lactic acid. The ointment is applied in a thick layer, the foot is covered with compress paper and a sock is put on top. After three hours, the skin that falls off should be scraped off with a pumice stone.

Bensalitin - the ointment is applied to the callus, covered with a plaster and left for three hours, then the plaster is removed.

You can make a compress from castor oil and glycerin mixed in equal parts. You must put a sock on top. It is better to do such compresses at night.

Prevention of calluses on the heels

You can prevent a heel callus by following a few very simple rules regarding hygiene and choosing shoes. Basically, a callus appears precisely because we often ignore doctors' advice: we wear tight model shoes all day, when buying we hope that the shoes will wear in over time, we save on quality shoes made of genuine leather, we do not use insoles for flat feet, which ultimately leads to such a nuisance as a heel callus. It is unacceptable for shoes to have a crumpled insole. You cannot wear synthetic socks, especially in the summer. Many people have an incorrect gait, which also affects the condition of the skin of the feet.

Heel callus prognosis

A callus on the heels heals quickly if you take action immediately and change your shoes. If you try to pierce the blister yourself, there is a risk of infection. So we do not recommend doing this.

A callus on the heel is not a fatal problem, but you still need to try to get rid of it as soon as possible to avoid trouble and infection.

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