6 Reasons Your Feet Are Peeling So Much, According to Experts

Sleek, tender feet are commonly the target throughout sandal season. So, it truly is only normal to question, “Why is my foot peeling?” when you’re all of a sudden shedding pores and skin down there like a snake.

With all that your toes are exposed to through the summertime months — UV rays, warmth, and sand — it is really comprehensible to have some peeling below and there, states Ife J. Rodney, MD, founding director of Eternal Dermatology Aesthetics. But whilst a random little bit of dry pores and skin takes place, frequently peeling ft can be a signal of an underlying ailment. If you are suffering from bottom-of-ft peeling on one more amount, it can be really worth at minimum thinking of if some thing else could be heading on.

“Typically feet do not just peel on their possess,” suggests dermatologist Cindy Wassef, MD, an assistant professor at the Rutgers Robert Wooden Johnson Clinical Faculty. “It is normally thanks to some fundamental healthcare problem.” And eventually, consistent or persistent peeling is not normal, Dr. Rodney adds.

So what is guiding your peeling toes and, extra importantly, how can you get rid of that admittedly uncomfortable symptom ASAP? Dermatologists and a podiatrist crack it down, together with how to take care of peeling pores and skin on toes.

Specialists Featured in This Article:

Ife J. Rodney, MD, is the founding director of Eternal Dermatology Aesthetics.

Cindy Wassef, MD, is an assistant professor at the Rutgers Robert Wooden Johnson Health care College.

Gary Goldenberg, MD, is a board-licensed skin doctor practicing in New York Metropolis.

Richard H. Graves, DPM is a board-licensed podiatrist and founder of Sol Foot and Ankle Facilities in Lengthy Beach front, California.

Why Are My Toes Peeling?

There is certainly a decently very long record of possible causes that can be at the rear of your peeling feet. Ahead, the leading culprits for why your toes are peeling:

You have a fungal infection.

A fungal infection like athlete’s foot is a single of the most frequent results in of peeling toes, states Richard H. Graves, DPM, a board-licensed podiatrist and founder of Sol Foot & Ankle Centers in Long Beach front, California. “This is generally mistaken for dry skin,” he suggests.

Athlete’s foot normally has an effect on the house amongst the toes and can bring about symptoms like itching, burning, and cracked, scaly pores and skin concerning the toes, according to the National Library of Medicine’s Medline Furthermore. You can choose up athlete’s foot from moist surfaces like showers, swimming pools, and locker area flooring, making it significant to take preventative methods like holding your ft thoroughly clean, dry, and neat as considerably as doable, carrying cleanse socks, steering clear of walking barefoot in public locations, and wearing flip-flops in locker area showers, for every Medline As well as.

Your skin is dry.

Just like skin on other regions of your physique, the skin on your feet can get dried out, far too, suggests Gary Goldenberg, MD, a board-licensed skin doctor practicing in New York City. That’s specifically accurate in the summer time when you could be strolling in sand, more than steamy surfaces barefoot, and just typically getting in dry air. “Dry pores and skin alone can trigger the pores and skin to crack, flake, or peel,” Dr. Graves says.

This is additional popular than most people today realize, Dr. Rodney states. “Foot treatment is typically an afterthought and the deficiency of hydration can guide to flaky skin and peeling,” she claims.

You received a sunburn.

Sadly, your feet can get burned by the sun’s dangerous UV rays, way too. “Sunburn can affect the toes, which leads to the prime layer of pores and skin to peel throughout the healing method,” Dr. Rodney claims. Undoubtedly utilize sunscreen to the tops of your ft just before you go out and contemplate slathering it on the bottoms if they will be uncovered to the sun.

You have eczema.

Eczema is a frequent skin situation that can cause dry, itchy, agonizing pores and skin, according to the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD). It really is unlikely that you would just have eczema on the bottom of your toes (this means, you may possibly recognize dry and inflamed pores and skin on other spots of your human body). But eczema can “guide to peeling of the feet in some conditions,” Dr. Rodney states.

It can be psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a persistent sickness that results in the immune process to grow to be overactive, prompting pores and skin cells to multiply too swiftly, the Nationwide Institutes of Wellbeing (NIH) explains. People pores and skin patches normally form on the scalp, elbows, or knees, but they can exhibit up on other pieces of the overall body as effectively, Dr. Rodney states. And, unfortunately, all those patches can direct to peeling pores and skin.

You have contact dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis is a problem that can take place if your skin touches an irritant, Dr. Rodney says. Possibly you washed your socks in a distinct detergent or accidentally stepped on a plant that bothered your feet. Both way, it can direct to your ft starting to be irritating and peeling.

How to Repair Peeling Pores and skin on Feet

For the history: Medical practitioners say you must hardly ever peel the skin that is flaking off. “It really is never Ok to peel the skin,” Dr. Goldenberg says. “Pores and skin itself is a biologic separation amongst the within and exterior worlds. Peeling the skin off, even if it is really peeling on its very own, can expose the skin to the features and cause an infection.”

However, you may want to acquire motion if your toes are peeling. Medical professionals say the greatest remedy for your peeling pores and skin in the end depends on what is resulting in the peeling in the 1st location. “In the circumstance of dry pores and skin, a basic moisturizer may perhaps be powerful,” Dr. Goldenberg states. So, make a stage to include lotion to your ft when you get out of the shower and/or prior to bed to see if it makes a variation.

If you have signs and symptoms of athlete’s foot and suspect that’s what is actually driving your itch, Dr. Goldenberg recommends trying an around-the-counter anti-fungal product. But if you feel you could be working with a pores and skin issue like eczema or psoriasis, or you have attempted other household hacks and usually are not receiving any where, it’s time to contact your physician. You could want a good analysis — and could have to have a prescription to support very clear things up.

“A stop by to the podiatrist is also advised if the pores and skin ailment is involved with suffering, serious itching, bleeding, drainage, or any variety of open sore,” Dr. Graves states. Your medical doctor need to be in a position to aid you get items under regulate. “Peeling feet is treatable if determined early and coupled with the correct lifestyle improvements,” provides Dr. Rodney.

Korin Miller is a author specializing in basic wellness, wellness, and life-style trends. Her get the job done has appeared in Women’s Overall health, Self, Wellness, Forbes, and more.