Taking care of your feet is crucial to your foot health in the long term. People often neglect pain in their feet and ankles until that discomfort becomes serious, which may lead to necessary surgery or extensive medical treatment. At-home treatments may temporarily alleviate your symptoms but don’t always solve the problem. If you’re experiencing debilitating and ongoing pain, it’s time to make an appointment to see your podiatrist.

What Is a Podiatrist, Exactly?

A podiatrist is a podiatric medicine doctor specializing in diagnosing and treating foot, toe, and ankle problems. This includes skin and toenail issues, infections, sprains, deformities, sports injuries, and diseases. Most podiatrists provide the following services at their office:

Medical services to help patients maintain healthy feet, toes, and ankles
Education on proper hygiene, care, and exercises
Diagnoses and treats pain, deformities, injuries, diseases, and disorders
Performs surgery to correct problems
Prescribes therapy, orthotics, and medications to help treat your condition

When Should You Call Your Podiatrist?

If you experience any of the following symptoms, it’s time to call your foot doctor:

Pain in the feet, toes, or ankles that is persistent came on suddenly or is getting worse
A significant change in color, typically bluish, reddish, or purplish
Swelling, redness, tenderness, or heat, which is likely a sign of infection
Changes in the look or feel of your nails (thickening or color change)
Blistering, cracking, scaly, or peeling skin
Any symptoms that don’t go away on their own after 2 weeks of at-home or over-the-counter treatment

At Advanced Foot Care of NJ, LLC, Dr. Anant Joshi and his staff treat various conditions and are committed to providing results. To schedule an appointment, contact his Woodland Park, NJ office at 973-256-0002.