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15 Home Remedies for Calluses and Corns

Natural Home Remedies for Calluses and Corns

©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Chamomile tea makes a soothing soak for callused feet.

Safe home remedies for painful corns and calluses include tea, cornstarch, and vinegar. For more details on how these everyday items can help your sore feet, read on.

Home Remedies From the Cupboard 

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Baking soda. One of the best ways you can treat corns and calluses is with a warm-water soak. This loosens the dead skin and helps with healing. Add 3 tablespoons baking soda to a basin of warm water and soak. Or massage calluses with a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water.

Chamomile tea. Soaking your feet in diluted chamomile tea can be soothing and will temporarily change the pH of the skin to help dry out sweaty feet. The tea will stain your feet, but the stain can be easily removed with soap and water.

Cornstarch. Sprinkle cornstarch between your toes to keep the area dry and protect the skin from breaking down. Moisture can make a corn or callus feel miserable and can promote fungal infections.

Vinegar. Soak a cotton ball in vinegar and tape it to your corn or callus. Leave the vinegar-soaked cotton on overnight. In the morning, rub the area with a pumice stone.

Home Remedies From the Drawer

Pumice stone. Pumice powder and stones are used for scouring pans and are very useful for sloughing away dead skin. After soaking your foot in warm water for about 20 minutes, use a pumice stone to rub away those corns and calluses

Home Remedies  From the Freezer

Home Remedies  From the Freezer

Ice. Hard corns can be particularly painful. If you find yourself with a hard-core corn, apply an ice pack to the area. This will help reduce swelling and ease the pain a bit.

Home Remedies  From the Refrigerator

Home Remedies  From the Refrigerator

Lemon juice. Mix a paste of 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 5 or 6 crushed aspirin tablets. Apply the paste directly to your callus, and wrap your foot in a plastic bag. Keep your foot under wraps for ten minutes, allowing the acidity to soften your callus. Then give your callus a rub with a pumice stone.

Since your feet are the body part you use the most, a callus or corn can make it difficult to navigate through your day. If you follow the home remedies in this article, you can give corns and calluses the boot.

For more information on foot problems and home remedies to treat them, try the following links:  

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Timothy Gower is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in many publications, including Reader's Digest, Prevention, Men's Health, Better Homes and Gardens, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. The author of four books, Gower is also a contributing editor for Health magazine.

Alice Lesch Kelly is a health writer based in Boston. Her work has been published in magazines such as Shape, Fit Pregnancy, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, Eating Well, and Health. She is the co-author of three books on women's health.

Linnea Lundgren has more than 12 years experience researching, writing, and editing for newspapers and magazines. She is the author of four books, including Living Well With Allergies.

Michele Price Mann is a freelance writer who has written for such publications as Weight Watchers and Southern Living magazines. Formerly assistant health and fitness editor at Cooking Light magazine, her professional passion is learning and writing about health.

ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS:

Ivan Oransky, M.D., is the deputy editor of The Scientist. He is author or co-author of four books, including The Common Symptom Answer Guide, and has written for publications including the Boston Globe, The Lancet, and USA Today. He holds appointments as a clinical assistant professor of medicine and as adjunct professor of journalism at New York University.

David J. Hufford, Ph.D., is university professor and chair of the Medical Humanities Department at Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine. He also is a professor in the departments of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Hufford serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine and Explore.

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.

 

Home Remedies From the Drawer

 

Vinegar. Soak a cotton ball in vinegar and tape it to your corn or callus. Leave the vinegar-soaked cotton on overnight. In the morning, rub the area with a pumice stone.  

 

Cornstarch. Sprinkle cornstarch between your toes to keep the area dry and protect the skin from breaking down. Moisture can make a corn or callus feel miserable and can promote fungal infections.  

 

Chamomile tea. Soaking your feet in diluted chamomile tea can be soothing and will temporarily change the pH of the skin to help dry out sweaty feet. The tea will stain your feet, but the stain can be easily removed with soap and water.