Types and typical manifestations
Doctors divide hyperkeratosis by cause and prevalence. Focal forms occur where there is constant pressure: corns on the balls of the feet, dry calluses on the fingers, calluses on the palms during physical work. Diffuse forms cover large surfaces and are more often associated with disease. Separately, follicular keratosis is distinguished, when small rough nodules form around the mouths of the hair follicles on the shoulders and hips, giving the skin the appearance of goose bumps. For many people, this is a cosmetic feature rather than a disease.
- Corns and dry calluses on the feet
- Calluses on the palms
- Cracked heels
- Keratosis pilaris on the shoulders and thighs
- Diffuse thickening of the skin of the palms and soles
- keratinization against the background of psoriasis and eczema
Reasons
The most common cause of keratinization of the feet is mechanical: tight or too hard shoes, heels, flat feet, deformation of the toes, excess weight, prolonged standing. The skin protects itself by growing the stratum corneum. The second group of causes are skin diseases: psoriasis, chronic eczema, lichen planus, fungal infections of the feet and nails. The third is systemic and hereditary factors: diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, vitamin A deficiency, ichthyosis and other hereditary disorders of keratinization. With age, the skin loses moisture and keratinization intensifies.
- Inappropriate shoes and high heels
- Flat feet and foot deformities
- Overweight, standing work
- Foot and nail fungus
- Psoriasis, eczema, lichen planus
- Diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism
- Hereditary disorders of keratinization
When do you need a doctor?
You should consult a dermatologist if keratinization appears not only on the feet, but is accompanied by itching, redness, peeling with clear boundaries, or changes in the nails. This may indicate psoriasis or a fungal infection, and then care without treating the underlying disease will not help. A special situation is diabetes mellitus: due to reduced sensitivity, a person does not notice cracks and calluses, and they easily become entry points for infection and lead to foot ulcers. If you have diabetes, you cannot cut off keratinization yourself.
- Changes in nails and itching between toes
- Well-defined scaly plaques
- Cracks that won't heal
- Pain and signs of inflammation
- Any keratinization in diabetes mellitus
- Fast-growing single horny lesion
Care and home measures
The basis of care is regular moisturizing and gentle removal of excess horny masses. Creams with urea, lactic and salicylic acid work well: they simultaneously retain moisture and dissolve the bonds between the horny scales. They need to be applied daily, and not in a course of several days. Treatment with pumice is possible only on steamed skin and without fanaticism: aggressive cutting leads to an even faster growth of the stratum corneum. Shoes must fit properly, have sufficient toe width and shock-absorbing soles.
- Daily application of urea cream
- Warm baths and gentle mechanical treatment
- Avoiding razor blades for cutting skin
- Comfortable shoes, orthopedic insoles according to indications
- Cotton socks, dry feet
- Hardware pedicure by a podiatrist for severe keratinization
Treatment by a doctor
If the cause is a skin disease, treat it: for fungus, antifungal drugs are prescribed after confirmation by scraping; for psoriasis and eczema, appropriate external therapy is prescribed, selected by a dermatologist. In case of severe keratinization, more concentrated keratolytic agents and hardware treatment are used. Orthopedic correction helps with foot deformities. For hereditary forms, treatment is lifelong and is aimed at maintaining the skin in a comfortable condition. You cannot prescribe hormonal ointments or systemic retinoids on your own.
- Antifungal therapy for confirmed mycosis
- External treatment of psoriasis and eczema
- Keratolytic agents in selected concentrations
- Hardware treatment of hyperkeratosis
- Orthopedic insoles and shoe correction
- Treatment of diabetes and hypothyroidism