Before Seeing the Podiatrist

If an injury or accident does occur, the steps you can take to help yourself until you can reach your podiatric physician are easy to remember if you can recall the word "rice."

1. Rest. Restrict your activity and get off your foot/ankle.
    
2. Ice. Gently place a plastic bag of ice wrapped in a towel on the injured area in a 20-minute-on, 40-minute-off cycle.
    
3. Compression. Lightly wrap an Ace bandage around the area, taking care not to pull it too tight.
    
4. Elevation. To reduce swelling and pain, sit in a position that allows you to elevate the foot/ankle
   higher than your waist.
    
5. For bleeding cuts, cleanse well, apply pressure with gauze or a towel, and cover with a clean dressing. See your podiatrist as soon as possible. It's best not to use any medication on the cut before you see the doctor.
    
6. Leave blisters unopened if they are not painful or in a weight-bearing area of the foot. A compression bandage placed over a blister can provide relief.
    
7. Foreign materials in the skin-such as slivers, splinters, and sand-can be removed carefully, but a deep foreign object, such as broken glass or a needle, must be removed professionally.
     
8. Treatment for an abrasion is similar to that of a burn, since raw skin is exposed to the air and can easily become infected. It is important to remove all foreign particles with thorough cleaning. Sterile bandages should be applied, along with an antibiotic cream or ointment.

Copyright 2008, American Podiatric Medical Association, Inc.