~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ August 4, 2015 ~ "FUNNY FEET, I LOVE YOU ~ NOT" ~ (anyone else remember the song "Funny Face"?) ~ Ok, so I think I am more "mildly irked" than actually ticked off, but it is really starting to get on my nerves that I have really weird feet and toes! And its not just one thing, I am plagued with several inflictions!
I know that it is summertime and by all rights, I should be going barefoot, but I'm usually cold and I can't wear flip-flops! PROBLEM AREA #1 ~ on both feet, the two toes next to my big toe are slightly webbed, [NOTE: Sometimes, the internet can be a wonderful thing! In researching for this post, I discovered that this condition has a scientific or medical name, SYNDACTYLY - meaning webbed toes and/or fingers. It can be genetically inherited, but doesn't have to be and people with this condition have something in common with not only famous people like Dan Aykroyd and Ahston Kutcher, but also with ducks, frogs and even kangaroos]!! My having a very slight case of "syndactyly" makes wearing any type of shoe or sandal that has to go between my toes unbearable.
I can't stand wearing open-toed shoes of any kind. PROBLEM AREA #2 ~ I used to hate my feet because my second toe is slightly longer than my big toe. [NOTE: Again, research for this post allowed me to find out that this condition also has a name. It's called "Morton's Toe" although has also been referred to as Morton's Foot, Greek Foot, Royal Toe, LeMay Toe and/or Sheppard's Toe. There are some treatments available, including surgery, but I recommend that if you are having problems from this condition, please see a doctor and/or a specialist]. However, I met someone once whose second toe was so far past her big toe, I am sure she must have had to wear shoes two sizes too big) ~ anyway, ever since then, I've thanked God for my "normal" toes! But I still don't like wearing open toed shoes!!
During my second pregnancy in 2004, which introduced our son Matthew to the world on November 12, something wonky happened to the toenail on each of my big toes. (Perhaps this post belongs with my new "Wacky Wednesday" column instead), but PROBLEM AREA #3 ~ is that I had grown a second layer of toenail. [NOTE: This is apparently a very common infliction in many people ~ just Google "layered toenails" and you may be as surprised as I was to find out how many people have this EXACT same problem]. There is no known real cause for this condition, and although it has been suggested that anything from pointed shoes, cold feet, poor diet or trauma can cause this, none of those factors applied to me (my feet really aren't always THAT cold)! As I said, it seemed to stem from my being pregnant. It is NOT caused by a fungus ~ a sample of my toenails that my doctor sent away to be tested came back negative for fungus and many articles that I found on-line also reported that fungus was not a cause of this condition. There are some medicinal treatments, although they are apparently very hard on the liver. Because of my other health issues and medications that I take, I opted instead to just keep filing, trimming and picking away at the second layer of toenail that I have. My best suggestion and advice would be to see your doctor and get a referral to a specialist if necessary. (And after 10 years, I was FINALLY able to pick, pry, file, dig and yank the second layer of nail away from the first. Talk about painful!! And, no, it ain't very pretty)!
As if that weren't bad enough, there still remains one final problem with my feet. And even though it is the least "medical" of my problems, it is the one issue that irks me the most. Probably because it not only happens on a daily basis, but actually, it occurs repeatedly and annoyingly, many, many, many times throughout the day!
And that brings us to PROBLEM AREA #4 ~ my socks NEVER stay straight on my feet!! This problem seems to affect mostly my right foot, which, for the "ever-seeking-balance-fairness-and-equilibrium" Libra in me, is a major "tick-me-off"! (Not that I would like for both socks to twist, mind you)!
As with the first three problems noted above, I tried to research some causes and/or solutions to this problem. But, alas, there doesn't seem to be a medical name or a scientific explanation for this "Twisted Sock Syndrome" despite the number of people afflicted by it. Right now my main concern is that my socks twist around on my foot. But thinking back to colder weather when I was wearing two or three pairs of longer, knee-high socks, another problem that I share with many, is that my socks fall down, bunch up and sometimes, usually when I am wearing boots, slid down underneath my heel.
The causes and solutions that I found run the gambit of odd, weird, wacky to down right ridiculous! (Another reason perhaps that this post should be made under my "Wacky Wednesday" heading)! Some of the reasons for socks twisting on our feet are: wearing sizes that are too big, the dreaded "one-size-fits-all" socks or the huge gap between sizes. I know the socks that I buy are ladies size 5-9. Now, I'm not sure about you, but to me, the difference between size 5 and size 9 seems to be quite a lot, so how can socks that fit one size fit the other? My foot size happens to be 7 - 7 1/2 so I figure since I fall right in the middle, they should fit me perfectly, right? Nope, apparently not.
Others causes were thin ankles, loose shoes, walking on the outside edge of your foot, and dry feet.
I could try one of these solutions that I found on-line I suppose: sock glue (yes, apparently there is such a thing); wearing thicker socks (um, I'm not sure how well that's gonna go over in the summer); using Velcro (apparently, you're supposed to stick one side to the bottom of your foot and the other to the inside of your sock and attach them together once the sock is on your foot); insulating tape (wrapped around the top of your socks after they are in your feet ~ this one is pretty self-explanatory, although I'm wondering if any kind of tape would do or if it HAS to be insulating tape); buying smaller or kids sized socks; and my personal favourite NOT ~ (see Problem #1), wearing socks with toes in them!
In the end, I have absolutely no idea what is causing my socks, again, typically my right sock, to continue to slip and slide and twist around my foot. And nothing I found on-line seems like a viable explanation or solution.
If you have any suggestions, or would love to commiserate with me on any or all of the above problems, I'd love to hear from you!!
In the meantime, I will either continue to grumble and complain about my twisty socks; try to buck up and learn to love open-toed sandals (not gonna happen); go around barefoot (which is likely the best option since I hardly ever go anywhere anyway), and wearing socks, twisty or not, is only going to leave me with the "farmer tan" of all farmer tans on my feet!
But hey! If I can get tanned enough, I'm sure my feet will become pasty and ghostly white enough to look like I am actually wearing socks!
That my friends just may be the best solution I can come up with to preventing sock twisting ~ wear invisible socks)!!
So, that's my pet-peeve for this week, what's been bugging you lately?
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