The heels of my feet burn. What's up?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I’m hoping someone can tell me what is going on with my feet.</p>

<p>About a year ago I started experiencing a burning sensation in the heels of my feet. The doctor thought it was a reaction to the glue in shoes, but I wasn’t convinced. I started doing exercises to increase the circulation to my feet, and by late spring, I was aware that I no longer had the problem.</p>

<p>Then in October, the burning sensation came back. When I realized that the first time I noticed it was October of 2011, I looked for the variable that would apply to both situations. That’s when I start wearing my winter slippers, which are sheepskin. So I stopped wearing my slippers and treated my feet for the pain (I use cortisone cream and epsom salt soaks) and the sensation ceased.</p>

<p>Yesterday I decided to try wearing my Ugg boots to see if it was just the slippers, or if it’s sheepskin. After an hour my heels were burning so much I had to take the boots off. I can, however, wear the boots with socks and there is no problem.</p>

<p>Here’s what I don’t understand. I have been wearing sheepskin slippers for at least 30 years. (Not the same ones :)) I also wore my Uggs, without socks, for at least two years prior to this happening. Why would I suddenly have an issue with sheepskin? And why, if it is an issue with sheepskin, would the pain only be experienced in the heels of my feet, as opposed to my toes, ball of feet, or top of feet?</p>

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<p>Go to a specialist.</p>

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<p>I understand that alergic reactions can start anytime, regardless of how long you haven’t had problems with the offending product. I am guessing your heels rub and touch the sheepskin more than any other part of your foot. Have you tried slipping an insert into the slippers or boots. Probably won’t be as comfortable but maybe you can still wear them.</p>

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<p>Burning sensation sometimes can mean nerve damage. Heel burning can also be associated with plantar fasciitis. Check with a podiatrist or orthopedic MD.</p>

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<p>I had something similar and it was plantar fasciitis - poor arch support in shoes I had worn for years - the difference was I had taken up longer distance walking. New shoes with better support cured it for me. Burning sensation in the heels was the symptom I had as well - [Plantar</a> fasciitis - PubMed Health](<a href=“http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004438/]Plantar”>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004438/)</p>

<p>I agree you should see a specialist.</p>

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<p>Normally I wouldn’t hazard a guess at something like this, simply because the symptoms are so general it could be anything, and an internet diagnosis from a layman is worthless… :smiley: but… just yesterday I saw the strangest ad in the paper. It showed a picture of feet with ants crawling all over them. I was puzzled… wondered if they were advertising a new type of therapy wherein they let ants crawl over your feet. Finally figured out they were dramatizing the symptoms. Anyway, the ad was for a seminar on Peripheral Neuropathy, “and advanced treatments for your sympoms” … so maybe you have Peripheral Neuropathy, whatever that is, and my earlier disclaimer is certainly in force.</p>

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<p>I ditto the plantar fasciitis diagnosis. I had it in both feet at the same time. I now wear orthotics and when I know I will be on my feet a lot I wear a walking sneaker. I also do stretching exercises I learned during PT. However, when I wear my Uggs - which I do a lot in the winter walking the dogs and running errands - my feet ache as they have no support at all and my orthotics don’t work in them because they just slip too much. </p>

<p>Your slippers, like the Uggs, also don’t have any support. I wear a clog with my ortho’s in them around the house.</p>

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<p>I agree that allergies can start at any point in life. My SIL developed an allergy to mint flavoring after age 50–it causes her to wheeze after only a small taste. S developed an allergy to eating any kind of green beans. When I was pregnant, I developed an allergy to tomatoes and parmesean cheese (fortunately it went away after the babies were born).</p>

<p>I would see a podiatrist and/or othopedic specialist specializing in feet ASAP. In the meantime, don’t wear any footwear that causes the symptoms to recurr and take care of your feet. I ignored foot pain for two days and then could barely stand or walk for a few weeks. Needed to wear orthodic inserts in orthopedic shoes for the next two years! I do NOT recommend doing that, needless to say.</p>

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<p>If the pain is strong when you first get up in the morning (standing up when you get up out of bed), that is a strong indication of plantar fasciitis. My podiatrist recommended never going around the house barefoot and to always wear shoes with my orthotics. Fortunately that has resolved my case of plantar fasciitis, but it is hard for an old Hawaii boy to not go barefoot, even if I do live in NJ these days.</p>

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<p>It is true that you can suddenly develop an allergy after many years of not being affected. I have always slept with down pillows (not always, but we’ve always had a few). We were in a hotel for S2s graduation, and I developed an allergic reaction on my face, swelling, redness, itching. Benadryl helped a bit, but the photos from S2s graduation are awful. It was only my face and head which led me to believe that it was the pillow rather than anything else, and when we were out of the hotel room it was better. When I got home, I tried taking a nap with a down pillow I had at home and the symptoms returned.</p>

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<p>Far be it from me to dispute the diagnoses of all you well-meaning internet doc’s . . . but how could it be plantar fasciitis if all the OP has to do is put on socks (not an insert, not an orthotic device, just socks!) to make it go away? I don’t claim to be an expert on either plantar fasciitis or contact dermatitis . . . but if simply insulating the feet with socks makes it go away, that would certainly seem to indicate an allergy.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, OP, why not just wear socks with your slippers also? (I know it’s not quite as snuggy . . . but if it works, why not?)</p>

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<p>

And we begin to see one reason why healthcare costs keep spiraling upward. OP figured out the source of the problem and how to solve it. Why in heavens name would a specialist be needed?</p>

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<p>Manufacturers change methodologies all the time. My guess is that the glue or cleaner used in the shoes causes a reaction in your skin. If it goes away if you wear socks… either wear socks or stop wearing the shoes. You could, I’m sure, get testing to determine exactly what you’re reacting to, but what purpose does it serve to do that? </p>

<p>Sensitivities are not the same as allergies. For example, I am sensitive to a chemical called tri-ethanol amine. It’s found in many shampoos and conditioners. It makes my skin tingle and burn. However, that’s all it does… no hives or trouble breathing.</p>

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<p>I would see someone but the question is who to see? A podiatrist? An internist? A neurologist? </p>

<p>Burning in the heels, to me, means nerve issues; you have to feel the sensation so nerves are involved. Could be an irritation, which is like the allergy guess, with the nerves somehow sensitized, so maybe you could change the kind of socks you wear. Could be nerve compression. Could be a symptom of something else - don’t want to get scary but could be lots of things, like diabetes. Could be non-specific neuropathy that you’ll never understand. Could be something to do with nerve compression elsewhere. </p>

<p>I have occasional intense itching on the bottoms of my feet. No idea what it is. I don’t have symptoms of diabetes. I have a rational diet. I am in excellent physical condition. I have no loss in function. I have other nerve issues relating to compression of nerves in the shoulder and neck so maybe it’s like that. But what it is exactly? Don’t know. You likely won’t know either.</p>

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<p>Planter Fascitis is the first thing that comes to mind with heel pain. But since OP hasn’t come to clarify, its hard to tell if it is just skin irritation from the slippers or something else.</p>

<p>Re: sensitivities. They can develop at any time, although if they are a concern, I would recommend liver support ( like a milk thistle supplement) and a look at what medications/ toxins may be building up in your body and help your liver to process those.</p>

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<p>I’ll echo those who have mentioned that allergies/sensitivities can develop at any time. Knowing people in the field of behavioral neuroscience, many researchers who work with rats eventually develop allergies to rats that never existed previously from all of the exposure.</p>

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<p>An allergist told me he never was allergic to rabbits until he worked in a lab with them & became VERY allergic to them. If allergies are the cause of the burning feeling, it sounds like you’ve figured out your solition. Knowing that you’ve developed an allergy, it’s best to minimize your exposure, as you indicate you’re doing. You may wish to switch to purchasing things that do not contain the sheepskin that you’ve developed an allergy to in the future.</p>

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<p>The allergy might be to what the sheepskin is processed with.
I cant wear leather watchbands, but I can wear leather gloves.</p>

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<p>OP here. Originally I was leaning towards nerve damage, but now that I’ve narrowed it down to symptoms occurring only when I wear my comfy sheepskin footwear, I no longer think that.</p>

<p>Dodgers, I have resigned myself to wearing socks with the offending footwear, sigh, but I’ve also purchased a pair of synthetic comfy slippers that do the job of keeping my feet warm.</p>

<p>At one time I also thought it might be plantar faciitis, but again, the fact that wearing socks with the sheepskin footwear keeps the symptoms at bay, leads me to believe it’s not that. Also, my favorite shoes that I wear in the warmer months, when the symptoms disappeared, have no arch support, and I’m thinking if it were plantar faciitis, that those shoes would aggravate the problem as well.</p>

<p>EK, thanks for the tip about the liver supplement. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can take milk thistle because it is not recommended for those allergic to ragweed, which I am. But maybe there is something else that would do the same job. I’ll investigate. I think that you might be on the right track, because my doctor told me my habitual use of B-12 supplements might be causing it. I stopped taking them last winter, and again I thought that was why my symptoms disappeared. But since I take several prescriptions, and have over a long period of time, it’s worth a try.</p>

<p>Diabetes runs in the family, but I have been checked out for that, and don’t have it.</p>

<p>I agree that it may not be an allergy, but a sensitivity instead. I also think it could be something related to the processing of the sheepskin, and not the sheepskin itself. I don’t think it’s a reaction to glue, because I don’t experience the pain when wearing other shoes without socks.</p>

<p>Lergnom, unfortunately, I think you might be right. I may never know. Sigh. Sigh.</p>

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<p>Have you considered gout? My husband has it. He is not over weight. And itchy painful feet can be a symptom. </p>

<p>Regardless of footwear, does the pain come on when you eat certain foods? Ie shellfish, red meat, red wine? Fr some people cold weather can make pain worse. And wearing warm socks may help. So maybe the extra socks are helping in another way besides proecting the feet. The fact that warmer weather gives you less symptoms,a nd wearing warm socks and warm shoes make pain less is a signing might be gout. I would seriously have yurself checked for gout. My husband knowing was very helpful and the treatment and prevention pf flareups is very manageable. Many people have it and treat it the wrong way.</p>

<p>If it’s gout, never ice. </p>

<p>There is also something called pseudo gout, a type of arthritis.</p>