The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Duct Tape
Posted by Bethany (San Diego CA) on 09/12/2024
★★★★★
Duct tape healed my heel cracks! One week day we decided that on Saturday we'd take the family to the beach. The day before I developed painful heel cracks on one foot. The kind that pinched and just hurts when you walk! I thought we couldn't go to the beach because that sand would get stuck inside my heal cracks. I read all the suggestions online and settled on duct tape. Sounded crazy but worth a shot. Well, the duct tape WORKED! I was amazed after wearing the duct tape overnight the cracks healed enough that my feet felt well enough to go to the beach. Now I read for the duct tape whenever this issue arises. Also learned over time that likely causes are B deficiencies, but in a “pinch” the duct tape helps immensely!
Comfrey-Aloe
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 06/16/2024 523 posts
Coconut oil doesn't do anything for me, either. BUT, it was awesome when I used it to wash my broken foot! And also works all over, anytime I don't have time to shower.
Comfrey-Aloe
Posted by Jeri (Colorado) on 06/15/2024
★★★★★
I struggled with cracked heels even though I was rubbing coconut all over my feet after every shower for toenail issues. I just so happened to buy a product that has Comfrey and Aloe Vera for comfrey's ability to help mend bones, and while looking at the reviews for this product, I read that someone used it successfully for cracked heels.
So, I started rubbing it on my feet everyday and it totally works for me. I haven't had to file my feet in years. However, it does nothing for toenail issues. I learned this the hard way once I realized by abandoning my coconut oil, my toe nails started having issues again (fungus, I assume). Now I rub the coconut oil into most of my feet, especially toe nails, and the comfrey-aloe product into my heels and any other dry areas. My feet have been looking and feeling pretty good with this routine.
Flax Seed Oil
Posted by Arn (Kenmore, Wa.) on 01/29/2024 20 posts
★★★★★
I used to have a crack in the end of my right thumb. It was always in the way, and hurt worse than a broken leg. By the way, I found that a drop of tea tree oil immediately takes the pain away.
But I had that open crack in my thumb for several years, no matter what I did. Until one day I took a couple of capsules of flax oil. The very next day the fissure had closed up and was healing. First time in years.
Since then I have used Flax oil for heel cracks with the same results. I should have learned by now to take it regularly, but I get lazy.
Crisco Shortening
Posted by JaneySilva (Springtown, TX) on 08/12/2023
★★★★★
This just reminded me of my aunt, who at 80 had no wrinkles. I asked her what she did and she told me she hated her skin to feel dry, so she always kept Crisco on it. Uck, but no wrinkles at 80!
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Cara (Fort Collins, CO) on 07/03/2022
★★★★★
After 5 years of painful cracked heels, I finally tried Mentholated Vapor Rub on my feet. UNBELIEVABLE! The pain was completely gone in 24 hours and has not returned. Cracks closed up. No more walking around on my tippy toes because of severe pain.
I wrapped my heels in plastic wrap and tape after applying the Vapor Rub. I kept both heels wrapped overnight and by morning my feet were healed. AMAZING!!!
Essential Fatty Acids
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 06/19/2012
★★★★★
Vitamin A
Posted by Suzanne (IN) on 04/04/2022
★★★★★
I take vitamin A, it cured my cracked heels.
Vicks Vapor Rub
Posted by Nancy (Mesa, Az) on 04/02/2022
★★★★★
Ive been using Vicks vapor rub for years on my cracked and rough heals and it works great. Around 6pm or so I will take off shoes, clean feet, rub in the mentholatum on the whole bottom of foot, put on socks til I go to bed, then take socks off as can't wear them at night. Baby soft heels in the morning.
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Alex (Thessaloniki) on 03/02/2022
I have both cracked heels and dry hands. My dry hands are from washing them often and from cold. I took 500mg of niacinamide per day for a month, as Dr Berg suggested in the video and absolutely nothing happened. The problems remained (until I tried Tricia's Cracked Heel Remedies).
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Tessa (Okanagan) on 06/15/2021
Hi Charity -
Your perseverance is amazing. You've been through so much and you keep learning, trying new things and sharing with others. Thank you.
You mentioned in your post about taking supplements:
I wouldn't have to take so many if I could get my programming to stop running in the sub conscious mind. It runs 24-7.
Dr. Daniel G. Amen is a physician, clinical neuroscientist, child and adult psychiatrist, and brain imaging specialist as well as a best-selling author. His latest book is called Your Brain is Always Listening.
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Always-Listening-Happiness/dp/1496438205/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=your+brain+is+always+listening&qid=1623814073&sr=8-1
It has good reviews (I haven't read it yet). It might be worth getting from the library (published in 2021 - so there may be a waiting list).
According to Dr. Amen, your brain is always listening and responding to hidden influences and unless you recognize and deal with them, they can sabotage your health, among other aspects of your life. These influences include things from your past that ignite your most painful emotions, negative thoughts, grief and loss, etc.
By the way, I'm a big fan of Dr. Berg's videos, too. I've learned so much from him. One of my favourites!
Take care,
Tessa
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Deirdre (Connecticut) on 06/14/2021
Thank you so much for your reply, Charity. So glad your health issues are all improving. Kudos to you.
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Deirdre (Connecticut) on 06/14/2021
Thanks, Art. I did try clotrimazole cream during the winter, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. I will start up again but I want to test the niacin supplementation first for a month to see if it can make a dent. Will update!
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Goldengirl52 (USA) on 06/14/2021
Another Dr. Berg fan, I'm telling you Charity, he teaches on "my level of understanding" and I can't say how much he's helped me. I have learned from many people since being diagnosed with T2 Diabetes, but it's led me to real eye-openers on other ailments I have and they are being helped so much it is like a miracle. I've never bought any of his products because they are too expensive for me, but I follow him as best I can.
It's a thrill to see others here on EC that are finding truth in the alternatives to conventional medicine like surgery, and drugs, huge hugs!!
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Goldengirl52 (USA) on 06/14/2021
Hello Art!! I'm so excited to see someone else that watches Dr. Berg! I saw your post on Parkinson's Disease and just looked for all your posts here on Earthclinic. I'm in CA as well, up North close to Oregon border. I am on the keto diet, dropped sugars/carbs down very low, and in the safe zone (6.0 and lower)for my t2 diabetes. I'm now learning about insulin resistance from both berg, and Dr. Bikman. I study them regularly on youtube and also pub med. I would love to follow you around the site, but I don't think EC has that option. I can save your posts/replies though and will do that!! Check out Dr. Benjamin Bikman if you haven't yet ;) I could listen to him all day!
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Charity (faithville, Us) on 06/13/2021
I do take natures plus B it has a little paper in it to say how it has the actual level of B it states. Gut issues I have faced since birth and hepatic liver surgery in 2010 that made my condition worse but got healed at church 8 years later, to a degree< I don't have to soak my liver at night with castor oil any longer to control misery. Amen. Cortisol is my main issue from trauma programming, since birth. My 4 siblings have similar problems and 3 self medicate daily. I know I am old but it has been a long journey untangling the mess and Eric Berg helped me learn a lot, with my gut/cortisol understanding. My heels are better. I also use fresh comfrey mint vinegar soaks on my feet. I take a LOT of supplements. Ox bile is helping with taurine. I wouldn't have to take so many if I could get my programming to stop running in the sub conscious mind . It runs 24-7. I do go watch teaching healers on youtube and zoom church mark hemans. I study most days and learning to grow a garden. I also watched John Bergman on youtube
Digestive Disorders Health Rant - YouTube He was hit by a car as an adult and then he became a doctor who teaches what he learned trying to get himself well. The spine information, as I was hit by a car at age 4 and flew about 18 feet and my head hit a fire hydrant and I had brain trauma. I had about 150 stitches, told I would die of a stroke. My mom was a violent bi polar and father a pedophile. I had split personality I discovered when I was almost 58 and I'm 64 and almost have that all worked through. I still have some dyslexia and ADHD.
Dr.Berg explains Cortisol & Long Term Chronic Stress Effects on Body - YouTube
I could write a book but I am not that focused and need Holy spirit to lead me, so hope this gives you some insights. Love, charity
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Art (California) on 06/13/2021 2325 posts
Hi Deirdre,
Did you try the 1% Clotrimazole on your heel? It's worth a try if you haven't yet, as the cracks can sometimes be fungal related. It may take a moment because the heel skin is fairly thick, but definitely worth a try.
Niacin is antifungal and that may be its mode of action for this problem. The combination of Clotrimazole and Niacin may hit it from the inside out and the Clotrimazole from the outside in!
Art
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Deirdre (Connecticut) on 06/13/2021
Hi Charity,
Thanks for passing along the video link. I watched it last night and found it very interesting. Did you ever try B3 (niacin) for your cracked heels, per Dr. Berg's video? I have one crack on my heel that I can't get to fully heal NO MATTER WHAT so I have been taking low-dose niacin (25 mg) for the past few weeks and no change yet. Decided to try a 500 mg niacin cap today and wow, what a flush! Lasted a long time. Would love more details if you've tried the B3 - mgt dosage, how often, how long before you saw results, etc. Thank you!
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Charity (faithville, Us) on 06/12/2021
Mentholated Vapor Rub
Posted by Donna (Brooklyn, NYC) on 06/12/2021
What kind of socks? I tried it with cotton ones and they just rubbed off the rub.
Dietary Changes
Posted by A kindred spirit (U.K. ) on 06/21/2019
★★★★★
I have been gluten free for a week, and was surprised on day 3 to find my cracked heels had disappeared, and the overall smoothness of the skin on legs and arms had dramatically improved!
Coconut Oil
Posted by Anna (Yosemite) on 10/22/2018
Not sure if this is helpful, but I had cracked heels such as you describe some years ago. A kidney cleanse and then kidney support program got rid of the problem.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Megan (London) on 10/22/2018
★★★★★
I have severely dry feet with horribly cracked heels, esp in the fall and winter months. I have been testing various remedies to see which one works best the past few years. My remedy tests include pure shea butter, olive oil and coconut oil, all applied externally and massaged into the bottom of the feet. I have also tried taking borage, fish and evening primrose oils (not altogether, one at a time).
Hands down, fastest and best results were applying coconut oil and then putting a cotton sock on. I do this twice at night, before or after dinner and then again before going to sleep and in the morning my feet are impressively softer with less indentation in the cracks. Not terribly fond of the coconut oil smell, but learning to live with it!
Castor Oil
Posted by Angelique (British Columbia) on 10/03/2018
★★★★★
Castor oil for cracked heels.
I recently read how castor oil helped someone with cracked heels. My girlfriend has been suffering with this for many years. I suggested that she try it. She said within days of applying it and rubbing it in before bed at night, that her heels have never been so smooth and crack free.
Onions
Posted by Denni (Australia ) on 02/10/2017
★★★★★
In response to the post by Kathyp (Cedarburg, WI) on 03/15/2014 in the cellulitis section...
Have you tried for cracked feet and it sounds crazy, slices of onions on the soles of your feet? Wrap with glad wrap and don socks. Do this overnight for several nights.
Onions have many benefits including anti microbial. But Google the benefits first. It's an old remedy and it works.
I had cracked heels, to which until then I prided myself on having none. This crack was deep raw and painful. It cleared up quickly after using this remedy. The onion will sting for a little bit, but is worth it. I heard cracked feet are a sign of bad digestive system.
There are many essential oils you could look at for cellulitis.. It best to see a qualified aromatherapist and also a bio chemical tissue salt consultant for options to help with all your needs
I hope this helps cheers from Australia
Yogurt and Henna Foot Wrap
Posted by Leesa (Ca) on 05/28/2016
★★★★★
Hi, I had a friend with very bad cracked feet. I went on this site and others to find out remedies. I forwarded her everything from, ACV, Coconut Oil to Vic's Vapor Rub! Yes, there were rave reviews with those remedies. Her Mom told her to put yogurt and henna mixed on her feet and IT WORKED within days! She put 1/4 cup of plain yogurt and same of henna. I know she did put it on and wrapped her feet with clear plastic and then put socks to soak it in. Maybe at night while you sleep. Good Luck!
Apple Cider Vinegar, Kefir
Posted by Anon (Us) on 08/07/2015
★★★★★
We stumble onto things as we try to alleviate our sufferings. My heel backside was itchy, red, dry, cracking and painful, from what, who knows, blister on bottoms of feet and sides of foot.
I used the apple cider vinegar with the mother and it felt better but not cured, so in the neck of the KEFIR bottle I discovered a thick white paste forms and I put a finger in there and collect it and apply on top the vinegar and it feels so good .
Skin looks much better. Must be the enzymes. Kefir facials on top of diluted 50/50 apple cider vinegar are also nice. Pour Kefir in hands and apple to all my skin, leave on till next shower.
Kefir soaks LEFT on scalp and hair for an hour before shampoos NICE.
Bandaid, Emery Board, Moisturize
Posted by Genavie (Maryland) on 06/13/2015
Great info on the zinc for splitting fingers. I just want to add one thing. My mom whose 60 has had splitting finger tips her whole life which got very bad to the point that it looked like her skin was unravelling at the seems. The lines would follow her fingerprint marks and just seperate like little layers being pulled apart or layers of onion without anything holding them together. She cried and bled out daily and had to stop washing dishes altogether or getting her hands wet. I started getting the same issue when I was 39 after a health issue that left me house ridden for about 4 years.
I one day was leaving my mom's house and she made the remark about her and I being identical in the same way that we are vampires, meaning we don't go out in the sunlight, and it hit me. She never liked going outside during the day all of her life and especially adult life and I had been indoors for a long time when mine started. I had a flash back on vitamin d deficiency causing split fingers in many people tested for their vit d levels as well as vit c levels which contribute to the production of collagen which holds the skin together. I take vit c daily (around 4 to 5k mg) and have for years but mom never took any vitamins and perhaps that is why she had it soo much longer than me, but she started the vit c at 5,000 mg per day which gave her zero diarrhea (this means her body was using up the full amount taken because if her body did not need this much it would have used what she needed and the rest would have gotten spilled over into the intestines as diarrhea which is what is referred to as bowel tolerance) .
I started taking 10,000 iu of vit d along with vit k because the body relies on vit d to activate over 100,000 hormones and functions in the body but needs vit k to process the vit d properly.
Within 2 days my fingers were heeled up and felt soooooooo much better. I would cry from the pain and inflammation from the scores of splits all up and down my fingers.
Mom's fingers healed up wonderfully and she still had problems with feet (heel) fissures but she is now obese as well as diabetic. I found that the so called healthy canola oil is really death waiting to happen and is being forced into our diet under false pretense as heart healthy but in actuality is not healthy at all and there is not even really a such thing as a canola plant. It comes from a hybrid rapeseed plant and has omega 3 added to it afterwards do to the lack of heart healthy ingredients. Labels are now even adding organic to the canola deception but how is this possible when the plant is not even organic in nature.
The true underlying cause of diabetes is using bad oils such as canola(stands for Canadian oil plant) Canada was the first to create it and name it. The bad vegetable oils create an artificial fat wall around the cell which prevents the uptake of glucose (sugar that every cell in the body needs as fuel). This creates an insulin imbalance and takes up to 6 months to undo the damage from one serving of vegetable oil. The imbalance of insulin and glucose now disrupts the electrical balance of the cell. We are all electrical beings who rely on electric as fuel( men have actually given up all foods meat and veg, alike and lived off the power of the sun by sun gazing(google man lives for 15 years without food by sun gazing) we began to eat meat and this in turn lowered our vibrational frequencies.
Back to the bad oils. Never eat margarine or buy into the whole low fat lie because fat actualy allows us to lose weight opposite to what the FDA would have us believe. Lack of fat and high grain intake causes inflammation and disease. Avoid all grains as much as possible not just gluten containing grains. You can reverse all diabetes type 2 from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on weight and diet. Stop all margarines and veg oil intake and follow the budwig diet which is 4% cottage cheese 3 times per day. Mix 1 tablespoon cold pressed flaxseed oil to every 3 tablespoons cottage cheese and stir voraciously. This causes the oil to bind to the fat of the cottage cheese and allows the flaxseed oil to enter the blood stream where it goes to work breaking down the artificial fat wall around the cells so the glucose uptake can regulate itself and put in balance the cells electrical balance. cinnamon can also be added to the mix to help fix the insulin imbalance. Cinnamon acts as a synthetic insulin inside the body.
Sorry to ramble and I only lightly touched the surface and just outlined the concepts mentioned and you should research deeper into the budwig diet and all info mentioned, for yourself. The vit d deficiency was the problem for my hands splitting and the vit c and d defic was mom's problem.
Hope this helps many many people.
God bless you all.
Bandaid, Emery Board, Moisturize
Posted by S. Jewell (Kentucky, US) on 02/16/2015
My husband used to get severe cracks in the tips of his fingers until my doctor brother told him to take zinc, which he did, and the cracks healed promptly. He suggested that white spots in the fingernails can indicate a zinc deficiency, which in turn causes splits in the fingertips.
ACV, Castile
Posted by Blindedbyscience (WNC, US) on 08/12/2014
My feet went south about 8 yrs ago. Cracked, dry, peeling all the time. My little toes and one other are thickened. Moisturizers and oils, and antifungals don't have much effect. Finally I thought maybe I need to wash them with soap to make sure the shampoo and conditioner are off. So I've been washing them last in the shower with Castile soap and soaking them in full strength vinegar every couple days. Instead of getting drier and hurting they immediately started looking better. The toes are starting to look better too. One day I put some oil on to moisturize before work and that had a bad effect. It's been a week and they aren't perfect but I'm no longer peeling chunks off (tmi! )
Superglue
Posted by Sarah (Burlington, Nc) on 09/21/2013
★★★★☆
For cracked heals, I use Super glue to close the cracks. The original kind only. Two doctors said it was ok and it stops hurting immediately.
