How to heal severely cracked heels

When do cracked heels need medical care?

Deep cracks can bleed, hurt when you stand or walk, and become infected. Seek prompt medical care for swelling, discolored skin, pus or fluid leaking from a wound, or a wound that worsens or fails to heal. If you have diabetes, get medical care for heel calluses and deep cracks: reduced feeling in the feet can accompany diabetes, and cracks can develop into foot ulcers. Inspect your feet daily, including the soles and between the toes.13

How do you heal cracked heels?

1. 1Wash gently each day with lukewarm water and a fragrance free cleanser. Do not scrub. Keep baths and showers to 5 to 10 minutes, and avoid long foot soaks.
2. 2Blot dry gently, drying between your toes carefully. Apply heel moisturizer within five minutes of bathing, while the heel skin is still damp. Reapply whenever your heels feel dry.
3. 3Before bed, apply plain petroleum jelly over your moisturizer, then put on cotton socks.
4. 4For cracks suitable for home care, use a liquid bandage during the day to protect them, reduce pain, and help healing. Severe or worsening wounds need medical assessment.
5. 5Wear well fitting shoes with enclosed heels. Avoid worn down shoes and styles that leave the heel unsupported.

Socks keep petroleum jelly off your bedding, which has no heel cracks to treat.2

Which heel cream should you use?

For dry, cracked heels suitable for home treatment, choose a cream containing 10% to 25% urea. Heel moisturizers containing alpha hydroxy acid or salicylic acid are other options for thick, dry skin. Ceramides help retain water and restore the skin's protective barrier. If you have diabetes, choose a fragrance free cream or ointment rather than a lotion; the bedtime routine is urea cream, petroleum jelly, then white cotton socks, repeated daily until healed.234

Should you file or peel cracked heels?

Do not cut hard skin away with scissors or a razor blade. Gentle filing can remove callus, but do not file inflamed, itchy, or sensitive areas. For intact hard skin, a foot file used on dry skin once or twice weekly is an option. Skip chemical foot peels while cracks or other wounds are present, and avoid them if you have or are prone to eczema, psoriasis, or other skin conditions. With diabetes, have a clinician treat calluses instead.1345

How long does healing take?

There is no fixed healing time for severe fissures, the medical name for cracks. Exfoliating moisturizers used to maintain already healthy heels can take about two weeks to show a response; that is not a deadline for deep wounds to close. If home care brings no improvement after a week, see a podiatrist. Severe cracks warrant a visit sooner. Keep moisturizing daily after the skin improves to prevent recurrence.145

Why do the cracks keep reopening?

Pressure makes the fat pad beneath the heel spread sideways, splitting the dry, thickened skin around its rim. Prolonged standing on hard floors adds to that pressure. Open backed shoes leave the heel pad unsupported, which is a modest achievement for something called footwear.1

A podiatrist can safely remove thick skin, dress or strap the heel to reduce movement, and assess whether heel cups or insoles would improve support. Treatment can also include stronger skin softening preparations or special tissue glue to hold crack edges together. Persistent cracking can involve an underlying condition, so repeated failure of home care calls for assessment rather than more aggressive exfoliation.14