Foot care, foot wear advice wanted

'stine · Post by **'stine** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 1:52 pm

When I think desert, I think flip flops and 45 sunscreen for lounging in shady camp, tennis shoes and socks for traveling about via bike or foot by day, and maybe cowboy boots for dancing and roaming at night. Any reality checks on this packing list from experienced burners on this matter?

Also, I've heard brief mention of a disorder called playa foot. What is it exactly? What causes it?

'stine

muley · Post by **muley** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 2:24 pm

my wife and I wear nothing but a good pair of sandal's the hole time we are there. be sure and wash your feet every day and rub on some white vinigar ( dam i need spell check ) it off sets the alkali dust

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:24 pm

Everyone is different. Personally, I don't want playa dust eating away at my feet so my socks stay on at all times except while showering and lotioning them up. I have a few different types of shoes for different activities and just to switch things up. Others do fine going barefoot.

Don't worry too much about fancy shoes to go with your outfit. Your shoes will become playa-colored anyway. Go for comfort.

The biggest thing.. take real good care of your feet starting now. If you go there with nasty cracked feet the week will be hell no matter how well you try to care for them.

stuart · Post by **stuart** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:27 pm

playa foot, hand, nose, lung, whatever

the dust is alkaline. Not enough to sting the eyes but enough to cause trouble with prolonged, unattended exposure. Playa foot usually results from too much time going barefoot. Some will get it from sandals, Some will get it from shoes that aint comfy. Basically, if your feet look chalky a lot you will need to clean and lotion them regularly.

Aside from the dust, comfort and support are critical to your feet. You are gonna put some miles on them dogs. Treat em nice.

kairyth · Post by **kairyth** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 4:38 pm

What is it exactly?

The skin on your footsies dries out so badly that they develop bleedy cracks and ucky blisters. Equals not a very good time.

After reading a fairly graphic description of playa foot in the Survival Guide last year, I vowed to only remove my socks in my own tent, and my heavy leather hiking boots (playa footwear of choice) only when in 'shoeless' spaces. Might have gone a bit overboard, but I had very happy feet as a result.

Some folks combat the effects of alkali dust with acidic baths, such as dilute vinegar (remember high school chemistry? acid + base = neutral salt )

Clean socks are your best friend. I think I went through two pairs a day, delibrately.

Some of the best advice I got last year was to be twice as careful and take twice as long at taking care of your toilette-- hair care, skin care, foot care. The car really does run better after you get it detailed...

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 5:35 pm

Geekily enough, I wear colorful cotton socks with my sandals. Once I tried flip-flps and got blisters between my toes where the strap went, and the stupid cracked heels. Now I do the foot soaky thing, using water drained from the cooler witha shot of white vinegar, then a good foot cream or bag balm. Interesting trivia: playa dust does NOT stick to bag balm at all. I have no idea why. Next reminder: do not immediately stick your feet into water drained from the freezing ice-containing cooler. YIKES!

Oddly enough, I take better care of my feet on the playa than I do here in Utah where it is bone dry and the soil is alkaline anyway.

I have wonderful playa shoes, but leave them at home becasue I don't want to ruin them. Silly me.

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 9:35 pm

Chai's Foot Care Regiment:

1. fresh, clean socks 2X a day.
2. sandals worn very sparingly (mostly I wear tennis shoes).
3. feet soaked in lemon juice and water every night before bed.
4. after soaking feet get dried and lotion applied, then fresh socks to sleep in.

Your feet are vital to your experience at BRC, don't abuse them, treat them with love and respect. "Playa Foot" as it's known will ruin your trip. Also, back in 99 I'm pretty sure I suffered a mild frostbite on my feet from wearing sandals at night.

_tears_ · Post by **_tears_** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 9:54 pm

Last year i ONLY used sandles and my feet here fine.

Every day I would wash them atleast once. I would take a babywipe that i had soaked in Lemon Juice and i would clean my feet with that, and then i would lotion them with very good lotion and let them dry.

Vinegar and Lemon Juice both work very well.

Just keep on top of your feet and make sure to watch out for Playa Foot ( the drying of your skin from the dust )

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:14 am

Oh yes, and if you wear sandals without socks, do remember to put sunblock on the tops of your feet, your ankles, your toesies and heels. Larry's only sunburn was on his Achilles tendon area!

missmann · Post by **missmann** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:21 am

Cotton socks after lotioning before bed helps keep the moisture from the lotion in... something I do at home... but good lotion is the key I think, and the socks have to be 100% natural fibers.
Lotions or balms that have ingredients like lavender, comfrey, chamomile will be soothing if your tootsies (great word) feel annoyed.

Lush makes a lotion called Helping Hands- hand-made with natural ingredients and safe synthetics, smells good, etc. (I'm addicted to Lush).
http://www2.lush.com

Burt's Bee's also has a hand salve that is particularly nice for heavy duty moisture. Also works well as a lip balm, and to help heal tattoos- just a tiny tiny dab goes a long way.
http://www.burtsbees.com

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:02 pm

kairyth wrote: The skin on your footsies dries out so badly that they develop bleedy cracks and ucky blisters.

Emergency Services medics see a lot of this. Take care of your feet BEFORE the bleeding starts.

BurntJoJo · Post by **BurntJoJo** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:27 pm

Ah Playa foot. How i hate you! I would recommend a fabulous pedicure first where they literally razor the dead skin off your feet. Making upkeep for BM easier. But i agree with everyone else....lots of lotion and socks! I had one pair last year and was hating life. I could feel my skin scratching the sheets in our camper! Hope that isnt TMI!

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:36 pm

Larry used Bag Balm on his leg scratches ... does anyone know why playa dust does NOT stick to bag balm under any circumstances? very odd.

_tears_ · Post by **_tears_** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 9:04 pm

AntiM wrote:Oh yes, and if you wear sandals without socks, do remember to put sunblock on the tops of your feet, your ankles, your toesies and heels. Larry's only sunburn was on his Achilles tendon area!

Oh good reminder! I had not thought of that!

Last year i was rather tan already before i headed out there but this year i am far from, thank you for the reminder!

Ohranje · Post by **Ohranje** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:45 am

I had posted this on another string - but thought I would chime in here as well.

First off - I am a virgin burner this year - and I am so ready to hit the playa I could scream.

My partner recommended that I start working on my feet now - get them in shape ahead of time. So I am.

I found this stuff called Kerasal that is fantastic. In 3 weeks of using it my feet are the softest they have ever been, no dry patches, no hard points, nothing. I just put this stuff on after showering in the morning and then put my socks on. It does a fantastic job. I highly recommend it and plan to bring many tubes to the playa. I now really love my feet (and so does my partner - is that TMI?).

waltsnipe · Post by **waltsnipe** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:57 am

Saw someone above recommend hiking boots. I can only say that I wore my old hiking boots out there my first year ('99), which was also the year I didn't have a bike, and I ran around so much the first night that I had death blisters the next morning and it really affected my trip the rest of the week.....walking around like Fred Sanford and not being able to get to burning stuff (when fire was spotted in the distance) before it had burned up completely.

I recommend to all my newbie friends that they wear comfortable old tennis shoes and cotton socks. I tell them to wear whatever they would wear if they were directing traffic in the Astrodome parking lot all day......in August......for a week.

Are we on the playa yet?

waltsnipe, SCARAB Camp

BurntJoJo · Post by **BurntJoJo** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:57 am

Thanks for the Kerasal advice! On my way to the store now.

Foot care, foot wear advice wanted

Foot care, foot wear advice wanted

foot wear and care

Playa Foot

hiking boots=walking like Fred Sanford

Kerasal