Reasons Why You Need Extra Wide Shoes
It seems to me that some women’s shoe trends don’t exactly have comfort in mind. There are widespread fashionable shoes that are either too high, too tight, or too pointy at the toes. Wearing shoes like these for extended periods of time can affect women’s foot health and cause some painful and ugly looking blisters. And seeing how there aren’t a lot of women’s extra wide shoes on the market, once those blisters form it is especially hard to get rid of them. Most shoes you can purchase only exacerbate the problems.
Yet having wider feet is not something to be embarrassed about. It is simply genetics. Plus, the difference in width is barely visible. There is no need to force yourself to wear trendy tight shoes at the expense of your comfort. And besides having wider feet than the standard women shoe size, there are some medical conditions that require wearing shoes that don’t constrict your feet as much.
Still on the fence about this? Here are some reasons that will probably make you consider looking for women’s extra wide shoes.
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Wearing Extra Wide Shoes Can Help You Avoid:
1. Blisters
There are a few types of blisters depending on what causes them. We will focus on friction blisters. So, it is pretty self-explanatory. Friction blisters are caused by friction on the skin of your feet. Wearing tight fitting shoes causes the skin on your feet to rub against the inside of your shoe. The constant rubbing and friction irritate the skin. Then, fluid builds up just under the irritated area and a blister is visible. The blister can be filled with fluid, blood or puss.
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Luckily, blisters are easily preventable. Just make sure your shoes are the right fit – not too tight and not too wide. You can also try wearing socks whenever possible and try to keep your feet dry.
2. Calluses and corns
A callus is usually formed in the area under the toes at the bottom of your foot. It is a patch of hardened yellow looking skin. It is also caused by friction with the sole of your shoe. A corn is also thickened skin, but it usually appears on bony areas.
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Much like blisters, these too can be prevented by wearing shoes that are comfortable and fit you well. First, make sure that the sole of your shoes is not too hard. Second, when purchasing shoes try walking around in them and see if your movement is constricted. Most importantly, ensure that the shoe is not tight around your toes and that you have enough wiggle area. A great advantage of women’s extra wide shoes is that you can comfortably fit a soft and orthopedic insole.
3. Bunions
A bunion is a type of deformity at the base of your toe. To explain it with layman words, it is when the big toe pushes over the other toes and in the worst cases overlaps them. A bony joint is also visible – it just out from the inside of your feet. While it is something that runs in the family, predisposed women can trigger or worsen bunions by wearing ill-fitting shoes. Bunions are also more common in women than men and some might argue that the main culprit for this are high heels.
Source: gethealthyu.com
When you are wearing shoes that are narrow at the toes or high heels, you are putting extra pressure on the joint of your big toe. To prevent worsening of the situation, try to avoid wearing high heels altogether. Instead, wear shoes that are wide enough in the toe area and you can also try wearing a toe separator.
4. Hammertoes
By now you can assume the cause of this condition too – tight, narrow, ill-fitting shoes. When the area around your toes is not wide and long enough, your toes curl inwards. When the tip of the toe turns downwards, the toe starts looking like a hammer.
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When trying on shoes, make sure that you can fully stretch out your toes. A common rule of thumb – a literal rule of thumb for that matter – is to see if you can feet your thumb behind the heel before buying shoes.
And you don’t need to settle for pointy toe shoes. You can look up women’s extra wide shoes online and you will definitely find ones that have extra space at the tip.
Wiggle Room for Extra Breathability
Besides trying to prevent or not exacerbate the medical conditions we mentioned, there is yet another benefit of wearing extra wide shoes. This mostly applies to close toed shoes. When you are wearing shoes all day long, your feet are bound to sweat. And if the shoe tight around your feet, there is no room for air flow. By constricting air flow, you aren’t leaving room for the moisture to evaporate.
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To avoid smelly shoes and feet you should always purchase shoes that are made from breathable materials such as leather, as well as shoes that don’t restrict air flow. By doing this, you will not only prevent foo odor but also athlete’s foot and toenail fungus.
