From the Editor
The PRP Survival Guide is designed to be a repository of experiences and insights shared by PRP patients and their caregivers. Collectively, the PRP community possesses a wealth of practical knowledge about pityriasis rubra pilaris. Only we are best positioned to harvest that knowledge.
❏ FEET AND IMPAIRED MOBILITY (You are here!)
Share what you have learned about PRP, feet soles, toenails, and impaired mobility. Share articles you feel might be worth reading or websites worth visiting. Here is the first question we ask.
PRP AND SOLES OF THE FEET
✱ Thickening of the soles of the feet is common and can be very painful.
✱ Wear the most comfortable footwear you can find…even if it means bedroom slippers!
✱ Keep feet warm and dry at all times.
✱ Do not go barefoot and risk infection!
✱ Wear white and not colored socks.
✱ Apply creams and lotions liberally. Success reported with Clobetasol and urea lotion
✱ Use foot soaks to relieve discomfort and help slough off excess skin cells and calluses.
✱ Simple sandals/flip-flops from Walmart cushion feet during showers and allow for painless showers.
✱ What worked for Bill M (Plano, Texas): Clobetasol and urea lotion applied to soles nightly
✱ Advice from Mark A (Medford, Massachusetts): Avoid the temptation of peeling the skin since this could lead to bleeding and infection.
PRP AND SWELLING
✱ Put your legs on pillows to raise them above your heart while lying down.
✱ Compression socks that go to knee. We have lots of pairs.
✱ Elevation: feet above your heart
✱ Cut out salt
✱ Ask dermatologist or general practitioner to prescribe water pills
✱ No Gatorade or Body Armor drinks
✱ Eat ice chips rather than drinking lots of water.
✱ Follow a low-salt diet, which may reduce fluid buildup and swelling. Avoid seafood for now because it’s high in sodium.
✱ Exercise your lower legs by rising up and down on your toes so as to move the pooling fluid.
✱ Use tight socks like ones you buy for hiking for best support. You can also pack cream under them.
✱ Wear support stockings (sold at most drugstores and medical supply stores).
✱ When traveling, take breaks often to stand up and move around.
✱ Avoid wearing tight clothing or garters around your thighs.\
✱ Lose weight if you need to.
PRP and TOENAILS
✱ PRP causes thickening of the nails, and it may become difficult for you to adequately manage trimming them yourself.
✱ Avoid ingrown nails or trimming too close because of the risk of infection (cellulitis)
How can PRP impact my feet?
Editor’s Note: From soles to toes … to ankles and legs, the challenges we face to body, mind and spirit can be demoralizing, debilitating and de-mobilizing. It can be said that the PRP Community its has a foot fetish of biblical proportions. We want relief. For me it was the nightly application of Clobetasol and urea lotion.
How important is mobility? Few have said it more eloquently than Martin W (Wolverhampton, England, UK) who posted the following on May 6, 2017:
Martin W (Wolverhampton, England, UK)
Today I’ve been able to walk, by which I mean putting one foot in front of the other from heel to toe, for the first time since September last year which is over eight months in total. Well today I’ve been able to take a short walk in my local park with only minor discomfort. My feet appear to have only minimal cracking and when they do crack they are healing quickly. The thickened skin on my soles has started to reduce and I can flex my toes without them splitting at the joints too. This is a major milestone for me as I’ve been disabled and just looking out on the world for months. I can remember when I couldn’t get off the sofa and any pressure on my feet felt like I was being cut with broken glass. I’m not ashamed to say that I sat on a park bench and looked at the ducks on the pond and shed some tears of joy. I know that I’m still far from where I need to be but I’m so happy that I finally have some mobility back. Here are photos from last autumn and today to show the changes. I know I say it over again but I’m so thankful for all the support here. SOURCE
Update to a bullet point. Water pills not eater pills.
Ask dermatologist or general practitioner to prescribe eater pills. Nice Catch Michael.
I found that “grater” style exfoliators thickened my skin whereas pumice style used gently and daily thinned the skin. Heel crack self-sticking silicone pads stopped the pain immediately and allowed for very fast healing of fissures, but were expensive and not very sticky, especially when applied on oiled skin.
In the “How can PRP impact my feet?” section above, there is a sentence: It can be said that the PRP Community its has a foot fetish of biblical proportions. —-I don’t think you need the word “its”.
Also, somewhere in the “PRP and soles of your feet” section, I would add: another bullet that says “Avoid the temptation of peeling the skin since this could lead to bleeding and infection.”
From the Editor: THANKS for proofreading. I will add the comment you suggest.
PRP and soles of the feet. Thickening of the soles is called “Plantar calluses” which are tough, thickened skin that form on the surface of the bottom part of your foot (the plantar side). Plantar calluses occur commonly on the plantar fascia. This is the thick band of tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes and the ball of the foot. They can be uncomfortable, but they are very treatable.
Should this be attributed to a specific source or to you?
How do plantar calluses relate to keratoderma? I have read: “Keratodermas are a group of conditions associated with a thickening of the cornified layer of the epidermis. Keratodermas can be widespread or localized. Both types almost always involve the skin of the soles and palms.” How much medical lingo do readers want or need?
After application of lotion to the feet; use “Bread Bags” to cover them. They are cheaper than most wraps & readily available by the box at most grocers
Not only will it increase the efficacy of the lotion/moisturizer – they will protect your sheets from stains.