The GREAT Challenge

What Can Go Wrong With Your Feet As You Age

Fat pad anthropy
Getting older often can bring on extra weight and fat. But the one place you can lose padding is in your feet. That’s bad, because you need the cushioned layer to protect your tootsies from daily pounding. You may feel pain in the ball of your foot and heel. Shoes with cushions or custom-made foam shoe inserts called orthotics may help. Or your foot doctor may suggest another treatment like filler injections to replace the fat pad

Morton's neuroma
This is a very common foot condition. As many as one in three people may have it. Symptoms include pain in the front part of your foot or a feeling like you’re walking on a rock or a marble. It happens way more often in older women and in those who wear high heels or shoes with a tight toe box. Switching footwear, shoe pads, and massage may help. If your pain gets severe, your doctor may suggest steroid shots or surgery.

Plantar fasciitis
Got pain on the bottom of your heels? This condition is the No. 1 reason for it. The plantar fascia is a long ligament that runs along the sole of your foot and supports your arch. Repeated stress, like jogging, or even everyday strain can irritate it, causing pain and stiffness. If you have high arches or are overweight, you may be more prone to this problem. Rest, ice, over-the-counter pain meds, and calf muscle stretches can help.

Cracked heels
Mature skin makes less oil and elastin, which leaves it drier and less supple. Without regular care, your heels may harden, crack, or hurt. Being overweight worsens the problem. Special creams called keratolytics help slough off the tough top layer. Follow up with a pumice stone to remove dead skin. Apply moisturizing lotion every day. If your heels get swollen and red, talk to your doctor. You may need a prescription ointment.

Ingrown toenail
Sometimes, the side of a nail (usually on the big toe) grows into the skin. It can happen at any age, but it’s more common in older folks. Your toe may swell, hurt, and get infected. Sweaty feet, being overweight, and diabetes all add up and raise your chances for an ingrown toenail. To prevent it, avoid cutting your toenails too short or wearing tight shoes. In severe cases, your doctor may have to remove the nail root.

Osteoarthritis
By the time you reach your 50th birthday, your feet may have trekked 75,000 miles or more. All that wear and tear or a previous injury can lead to osteoarthritis. It happens when cartilage, a flexible tissue that prevents friction, breaks down. That lets bone rub against bone. Most people who get it are over 65.

Flat foot
Many babies are born with flat feet, but more than 80% outgrow it. Some adults get flat feet because of an injury or things like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Tendons that support your arch get damaged and flatten your feet. It can hurt. A giveaway is that your feet jut out, so most of your toes are visible from behind your leg. Normally, you'd see only the fourth and fifth toes. Orthotics, physical therapy, braces, and surgery can help.

Achilles tendinitis

The Achilles is the tendon you use to flex your foot when you climb stairs or go up on your toes. Age and lowered blood supply can weaken the tendon. Your heel or the back of your ankle may hurt. Rest, icing, and medication can help fight the swelling. Don’t ignore the problem. You could need surgery for serious tears

Diabetes foot ulcer
Diabetes can damage your nerves so that you may not feel small cuts or wounds. Your feet also might tingle, feel numb, or have jabbing pain. Foot ulcers can start as something small like a blister, but then get bigger and infected. They’re a major cause of amputations in people with diabetes. Keep blood sugar controlled, and check your feet often. See a doctor right away if you see anything odd.

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Guide to Ulcerative Colitis

What Is Ulcerative Colitis?
It's a type of bowel disease that causes long-term inflammation of the cells that line your re**um and colon (also called the large intestine). This may lead to sores called ulcers that can bleed and keep your body from digesting food like it should. You can take medicine to calm the inflammation and learn ways to ease its effects on your daily life.

Warning Sign: Abdominal Pain
A belly ache and diarrhea with blood or pus in it could be warning signs of ulcerative colitis. Some people have mild symptoms every once in a while, but others have worse symptoms more often

Warning Sign: Weight Loss
The long-term inflammation that comes with UC can cause digestive problems. These could lead to:

Weight loss
Poor appetite
Nausea
Lack of growth in children

Other Warning Signs
Some people with ulcerative colitis have symptoms outside the digestive system. These may include:

Joint pain
Skin sores
Fatigue
Anemia (low red blood cell count)
Frequent fevers

Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's?
Ulcerative colitis symptoms are similar to those of another inflammatory bowel condition called Crohn's disease. UC only affects your large intestine. But Crohn's can happen anywhere in your digestive tract. It can cause symptoms from your mouth to your a**s. Another disease called irritable bowel syndrome can cause long-term belly pain and diarrhea, but it doesn't lead to inflammation or sores in your intestines.

What Causes Ulcerative Colitis?
The exact cause isn't clear. But researchers think your immune system -- which defends you from germs -- is involved. When you have UC, your immune system may not react like it should to bacteria in your digestive tract. Doctors aren't sure whether this triggers the condition or results from it. Stress and your diet can make your symptoms worse, but they don't cause ulcerative colitis.

Diagnosing Ulcerative Colitis
To diagnose ulcerative colitis, your doctor will do a colonoscopy. They’ll insert a tiny camera into your re**um to get an up-close look at the inside of your colon. This helps them spot inflammation or ulcers in the area. A colonoscopy can also help your doctor rule out other conditions like Crohn's disease and cancer

Do UC Symptoms Go Away?
Your UC symptoms will come and go. The disease can go into remission, which means you may have no symptoms for long periods of time. Remission can last for months or years, but the symptoms will return.

Medications for Ulcerative Colitis
Medications can calm the inflammation inside your colon. The first one you’ll usually try is from a group called aminosalicylates. If that doesn't help, your doctor might prescribe a steroid like prednisone. A third option is an immune modifier, which lowers inflammation by changing the activity of your immune system. It can take up to 3 months before you feel the benefits.

Biologic Therapies
If other medicines don’t help, your doctor may suggest one of a group of medications called biologics. They help your body destroy proteins linked to inflammation. You usually get them in an IV. Another type of treatment is JAK inhibitors, which travel quickly through your bloodstream to block inflammation. You’ll take these as a pill.

Surgery for Ulcerative Colitis
Up to 45% of people with ulcerative colitis will need surgery, either to repair a tear or remove a severely damaged colon. Your UC won't come back after the surgeon removes your colon. Newer surgical techniques mean you may not need a colostomy bag to get rid of waste.

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