Shoe Size & Foot Problems

Our feet change as we age, becoming wider and larger. Check your feet daily for cuts, blisters and ingrown toe nails, especially if you have arthritis, diabetes or nerve or circulatory disorders.

Appropriate Size

• To avoid developing foot problems, buy shoes that fit the widest part of your feet and never buy shoes without having tried them on first. Walk around in the shoes to make sure they fit comfortably and that there is ½ inch between your toe and the front of the shoe. Shoe shop at night when your feet are largest.

Pointy-Toed Styles

• Women especially tend to wear shoes that are narrow around the toes, which set them up for foot problems such as bunions and ingrown toenails. Bunions are the bony bumps that form at the base of your big toe or on the joint of your little toe, and ingrown nails typically occur in the large toes.

Narrow Styles

• People wearing too narrow or tight-fitting shoes may develop painful neuromas, a growth of nerve tissue typically between the third and fourth toes, or hammer toes, a deformity in which the toe curls at the middle joint. Both conditions can affect your balance. Badly-fitting shoes may also lead to spurs, bony outgrowths at your heel, or thick, hardened layers of skin called calluses or corns.