FOOT PROBLEMS FROM PUDDLES RARELY PROBLEMATIC

posted: Sep. 05, 2019.

In New York, at least, puddles tend to be the size of a modest studio apartment, and are typically filled not just with water, but also garbage. You never really know what precisely is lingering in a puddle. According to Manhattan-based podiatrist Stuart Bernstein, DPM, “If someone is wearing flip-flops and they manage to get into a puddle, they could certainly get some sort of bacterial or fungal infection on their foot.”  But, he added, “That’s a longshot. I’d think they’d just go around the puddle.”

 

Dr. Stuart Bernstein

 

 

Still, puddle-related foot problems are not unheard of. Dr. Bernstein estimated that in his 40 years of podiatry, he has seen them, on average, “once or twice a year, in the summertime.” Most common, he said, is “a fungal infection between your toes or on your foot. I wouldn’t say that there’s some flesh-eating bacteria lingering in puddles.” If you do step in a puddle, Bernstein recommends that “you wash your foot really well, and you might want to run a little peroxide between your toes, just to kill any bacteria that might be lurking.” However, he also pointed out that he sees as many sprained ankles from people trying to avoid puddles as he sees infections from people stepping in them.

 

Source: Jeremiah Budin, MSN [9/3/19]  

 

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News.

 

Brought to you by Doctor John A. Hardy, owner of Toronto's foot clinic, Academy Foot and Orthotic Clinics.