# home callus removers - any good ones? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195 "2017-03-14T21:58:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195/21 "2017-03-17T03:21:54Z")
Another vote for “What’s wrong with calluses?” I like to maintain a certain amount of callus to protect my feet. I do scrape some excess away with my fingernails when I take a long shower or bath. And if I have a bit of callus that’s too thick and creates pressure (or an incipient corn) I slice it off with a sharp knife. If there’s enough callus to be a problem, it’s easy to cut off some of it without getting close to the live skin. But mostly I like having some callus. My feet are not dry, and don’t crack. That would be a problem. Sometimes I get some flakiness around the ankle bone that I scrape down after soaking in hot water. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195/22 "2017-03-17T03:21:55Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > S > Callused skin in not necessarily a bad thing. It’s the body’s why of protecting itself. Callused skin could become scaly, itchy, cracked, etc., but the basic callus is simply thickening of the skin. The longer the condition exists that causes the callusing, the thicker the callus becomes. A shoe that is too tight in the toe area may quickly develop a blister, or more slowly develop a callus. > > People who walk barefoot develop thicker skin on the bottom of their feet. The thickening of the skin protects the foot. People who work with their hands, carpet layers, mechanics, laborers, carpenters, etc., all develop thicker skin, and calluses, that protect their hands. I get work calluses on my hands. Those are different. I had normal callusing on my feet until menopause. Then it went all out of whack. If I don’t scrub off the calluses on my feet with scouring pumice – not the namby pamby stuff sold in cosmetics departments, the stuff that takes scale off sinks – every single day, I get overgrowth of callus that develops deep dirty cracks and that I can peel off in sheets. Which is gross. I do not wear tight ill-fitting shoes or heels. It’s some kind of hormonal change. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195/23 "2017-03-17T17:11:53Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Scaly skin is not callused skin. Your scaly skin could be a symptom of dry skin. You’re probably right. I’m talking this: [http://ayrespodiatry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Cracked-Heel.jpg](http://ayrespodiatry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Cracked-Heel.jpg) When I used the razor, it would look like the After in this image: [![](https://www.myfootshop.com/images/medical/derm/heel_fissure_composite_mod.jpg) ](https://www.myfootshop.com/images/medical/derm/heel_fissure_composite_mod.jpg) The before wasn’t that thick but not too far off. They call them callus removers on QVC but they definitely demo removing the dry cracked skin I am referring to. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195/24 "2017-03-17T17:19:17Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I get work calluses on my hands. Those are different. I had normal callusing on my feet until menopause. Then it went all out of whack. If I don’t scrub off the calluses on my feet with scouring pumice – not the namby pamby stuff sold in cosmetics departments, the stuff that takes scale off sinks – every single day, I get overgrowth of callus that develops deep dirty cracks and that I can peel off in sheets. Which is gross. I do not wear tight ill-fitting shoes or heels. It’s some kind of hormonal change. Calluses are calluses. The deep, dirty cracks in skin, whether that skin is callused, or not) may be bacterial, or a virus, fungus, etc… Just to be clear, all medications have side effects. Some are more serious than others, different people react differently, and taking medical advice from the internet may not be a good thing. :d Having said that, over the decades, I’ve had excellent results using antifungal creams (1% Clotrimazole cream, and 1% Terbinafine Hydrochloride cream) to cure, and prevent cracked skin, ridges in toe nails, and finger nails, minor/beginning ingrown toe nails, and reducing thickened/callused skin. CVS stocks Clotrimazole cream, and Terbinafine Hydrochloride cream, plus other antifungal ointments. Tenactin, Tolnaftate, Lotrimin, and Lamisil are well known brand names. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195/25 "2017-03-17T17:40:33Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > You’re probably right. I’m talking this: > > [http://ayrespodiatry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Cracked-Heel.jpg](http://ayrespodiatry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Cracked-Heel.jpg) > > When I used the razor, it would look like the After in this image: > > [https://www.myfootshop.com/content/images/medical/derm/heel\_fissure\_composite\_mod.jpg](https://www.myfootshop.com/content/images/medical/derm/heel_fissure_composite_mod.jpg) > > The before wasn’t that thick but not too far off. > > They call them callus removers on QVC but they definitely demo removing the dry cracked skin I am referring to. I’m not a doctor, and haven’t spent any time at a Holiday Inn, but those are not pictures of your plain ol’ basic thickened/callused skin. I’m guessing a fungus. A fungus can prevent skin from growing normally. Personally, I would wipe a small amount of your preferred, over-the-counter, antifungal cream over the affected area, and a little beyond. One foot only. Pick your least favorite (just in case 😉 ) Don’t walk on it for at least 10 minutes. I would apply a 2nd dose approximately 48 hours later. There’s no rush. Give your skin time to help with the recovery. I continue treatments every 2 days until the problem is gone. Hope this helps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-callus-removers-any-good-ones/782195.md?page=1)