What is…Pitted Keratolysis?

I have pitted keratolysis which can be pretty embarrassing at times and painful at others but I have found a few ways to manage this condition.  Today I want to share with you what this condition is and how you can ease it.

So, what is pitted keratolysis?

Pitted keratolysis is a bacterial skin infection that can affect both the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands. However, it most often affects the feet because of the sweaty environment created by wearing shoes and socks for an extended period of time.

This condition is characterized by small depressions or pits in the top layer of skin and areas of white skin. It can be a cause of smelly feet and is much more common in men than women. – https://www.healthline.com/health/pitted-keratolysis

My pitted keratolysis is on my feet and causes them to become really stinky, overly sweaty to the extent that they feel slimy, causes my skin to peel and in turn become really sore.

For years I was treating this condition as athletes foot, which had been wrongly diagnosed.  While the powders, sprays and lotions helped a little bit with the smell it caused my skin to dry out and crack which would lead to sore, weeping wounds, particularly between my toes.

I changed my socks 2 or 3 times a day which never really helped, cleaned my shoes with disinfectant and never wear the same pair 2 days running.  But nothing seemed to help.

I eventually decided to purchase some Dricolor roll-on antiperspirant and try that.  Dricolor contains aluminium chloride hexahydrate which is really effective at stopping sweat by blocking the sweat glands.  Application is easy, after washing my feet I roll the antiperspirant onto the soles of my feet and wiggle my toes so the solution disperses between them and then I leave to dry.  Sometimes this can take a while but I have found a hairdryer on a low heat setting can speed things up.  I then put my socks on and get ready for the day.

This is the most effective for me, and the effects of the Dricolor last for ages, even with showering.  I tend to apply this antiperspirant on a Saturday and a Wednesday each week.

Other things you can do to help with this condition are to go barefoot as often as possible and wash your feet often drying them well after.

This has been the most effective treatment for me and I am no longer embarrassed by my feet or how they smell (because they don’t any more!).

Do you have pitted keratolysis?  What do you use to care for your feet?  I’d be really interested in hearing your comments!

 

What is a Blogger?

When I say to people that I blog, most of them assume that I just write and publish to the internet but there are a lot of other things bloggers like me do aside from writing.  Today I am sharing with you what a blogger is.

First and foremost a blogger is a writer, we write about lots of different things.  There are blogs that people write about gardening, mental health, reviews on products, books, fashion and beauty.  You name the topic and I’m sure there will be a blog post written about it somewhere on the internet.

We are content creators, we are constantly thinking about things that would be interesting to write about and things that fit into our blog niche.

We are photographers, taking photos of things that we can add to our posts, and alongside that we are image editors, tweaking our photos digitally to enhance the lighting, shadows and making the most of the subject we have chosen to capture.

We are graphics creators.  We use different software’s to create page banners, logos and other items that we can add into our posts and social media channels to make them more visually appealing.

We are editors, writing posts and then re-reading them and checking them for grammatical and spelling errors, often re-writing parts of sentences and even whole paragraphs to make them easier to read.

We are social media marketers.  We share our blogs on different platforms in the hope that other people will want to read the posts we have written.

We are website designers, choosing how our blogs look to the outside world and how they operate.  We run checks to make sure that links work and things appear as they should and where they should.

We are schedulers.  We often work out a schedule of posting that fits in with the rest of our lives, sometimes this is easy to do and other times it can be hard.  Some people choose to blog daily and others work to a one post a week schedule.  We can be driven by self-imposed deadlines and try our hardest to stick to the schedule we have.

We are “stats” people.  Many of us are interested in the stats we generate, from page views to likes, comments and follows.  We like to keep tabs on this information and try to make sense of it.

We are readers and researchers.  We are always reading about things to do with our subjects and are interested in any new developments.  We research our topics to make sure that our facts and writing are correct and that our thoughts and arguements are well rounded.

We are not takers and makers.  We often have books full of ideas and thoughts, things we can do and things we need to do, things to look into and ways to improve.

But above all, we are human.  We make mistakes and we have days where we don’t want to get out of bed or leave the house.  We have lives outside of our blogs, we shop, we meet friends for coffee, we cook and eat food.  And we are all unique in what we write, what we post and what we do.

What is Bohemian Style?

Bohemian style, in terms of interiors, is bright, patterned and full of visual interest.  The style is laid back, with elements from different cultural backgrounds – think Indian, African and Egyptian, all blended together.

The styling of an interior is often bright and richly coloured with decorations of wood, brass, silver and gold.

Furnishings are often decorated with throws that are patchwork, crotched, embroidered and in jewel tones.

Mirrors are used, not just as the typical place to check yourself out, but to bounce light around and to add interest to areas.

Contrasting textures are used, suede mixed with velvet and leather, faux fur and satin elements, all added to play with the senses.

Furniture tends to be ornate, low, carved coffee tables, sofas with intricate designs up the legs, beds with fabric swathed across four-poster struts.

The bohemian style lends itself nicely to artists and creative types who want to surround themselves with items that inspire.

I think I could fall into the Bohemian style, that and being a Maximalist!