It’s Winter, it’s cold, it’s wet, and it’s Canada. You work in retail. Your first thought in the morning is your feet and your last thought when you go to bed is your feet. Yes, that is what the season brings…your own feet fetish. Don’t worry, no actual pictures of feet here as some may squirm.
This fixation arises simply from the fact that, as humans, our feet are so full of nerve endings they function as our other brain. They take a pounding, down there, underneath the frame, no matter if you are a lightweight or a bigger person. And when you are on concrete all day, merchandising or assisting customers, those ten toes to the heels take a beating.
And then in the winter, they must be kept warm and dry. Cold and wet nerve endings results in a body breakdown. We can think of nothing else but the crisis at our ground zero.
This post will toss some care ideas your way. Giving some time and energy to your feet, during the Winter/Holiday retail onslaught, will help you survive and maybe focus on something other than your foot being cold, itchy, burning and achy.
Word Of Advice: Invest in winter boots. The first time you forget your shoes, at home, will be the last time. It’s a rite of passage in the season. Catch This: MadeInCA.ca Review on Best Winter boots in Canada
Cold Makes Fire
I was introduced to plantar fasciitis in my late teens/early twenties. It’s “the morning after the day/night before” foot pain. I worked in the fashion channel and was in heels daily. My feet hit the floor, out of bed, and there was a shooting pain, like fire, across my foot and up through my leg. Years of orthotics, no more high heels, and physiotherapy has made it bearable.
Plantar Fascitis is a tendon injury. Tendons don’t like to be cold or frozen. So it makes sense that having cold feet will make this chronic and painful condition really hard to deal with as you burn through these cold, busy days in the store.
A very common problem for those of us that work on our feet…plantar fasciitis (ouch!) Catch This: Winter can make it hurt more! Click for a little insight from Well!Good on caring for chilly, sore, feet.
Breaking Down in Cold Sweat
Winter in Canada brings wet. Even if it’s not cold, it will be wet most days. Working in the grocery aisles in the Winter months is busy, crazy, heavy and fast. Your body will sweat, especially your feet on the concrete floors. On your route to work, you have to navigate some ponds and puddles. Your day starts with a couple of soakers in your shoes and you peel out of the socks at the end of the day. The result is a weird, yellow brown yuck across your toenails.
Dark, Cold and Wet/Sweaty means trouble for feet. Catch This: Avoiding Toe Nail Fungus During Cold Months by Sheldon H Nadal, D.P.M (Podiatrist)
Keep The Toes In Circulation
I have a family history of battling venous conditions. My ancestry (Northern European Celtic/Norsemen) means I was shorted on vascular valves. There just isn’t enough wee pumps in the legs to keep the blood flowing up and down. This means I am really not predisposed to slug it out in the retail channel. But I do and have for forty years give or take. Even my other passion in the fitness arena, although therapeutic, can be dangerous when I used to play with the heavy weights. Why we do what we should not is another psycho babble blog for sure.
Now, varicose veins and poor circulation are a real battle in the Winter months. We are even busier in the grocery and consumer package aisles. The veins have to stand up to being chilled, being over-heated, and then the physical activity pressure. This is a test for any brand or level of compression garments. I have become a bit of an expert on compression socks. My favourite brand is Jobst. I find they fit better and last longer than SVigvaris. If you have to wear them, do your research.
Cold feet, even when it’s toasty warm and your cozy in your PJ’s at the end of the day, can be a sign of trouble for you. Your feet are a pretty good system board when it comes to monitoring how your body is managing the CPG merchandising crazy day.
Frequent cold feet, even when you are running on steam, can be a sign of other health conditions. Catch This: Cleveland Clinic has some notes about Cold Feet
End notes, to make it all bearable, time and attention paid to the feet at the bottom will make those miles of aisles and piled carts easier to manage with a smile. I used to joke that I could recognize ‘sore foot face’ on the mugs of the people that were entering my shoe store (my fashion channel years). Keep the toesies and bones warm, dry and fresh, and use compression garments for the long days.
The most important drawer in my dresser in the winter holds the sock pile. I treasure every single pair and I will watch on Christmas day for the gift bag with my ‘Monkey Puppet’ socks. I make sure my compression socks are wool as well. I swear by wool socks, even with a slight allergy to some animal (no cashmere, mohair or angora) and the best are the traditional, tried and true work socks. And when they finally wear out, grab some googly eyes.
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