What helps dry, cracked heels?
For dry, cracked heels, nightly urea-based foot cream, 10 to 25 percent, softens hard skin better than regular moisturizer. Seal it with socks overnight. File thickened skin gently after showers, never dry-cut it.
Open-back shoes and standing all day drive the cracking; closed cushioned footwear helps more than any cream while you heal.
Deep painful fissures that bleed, or any heel cracks in someone with diabetes, deserve professional care rather than home surgery, since infection finds broken skin quickly in those feet.
Source: American Academy of Dermatology, how to care for dry, cracked heels
Try the symptom diary10 seconds a day, free, nothing to installSkin follows what you touched, ate and changed. A dated week shows the pattern a photograph cannot.
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
For dry or itchy skin
Doctors reach for plain, fragrance-free creams like CeraVe or Cetaphil, not fancy actives. A thicker cream beats lotion, applied within minutes of washing while skin is still damp.
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