Great Thread.

Excellent trick Bart...I will remember this.

I like to do a couple of things for my footskis as well for general maintenance.

I try to keep my nails from splitting/cracking by putting on Burt's Beezs cuticle cream or some other heavy moisturizer (shea butter products are nice for this also).  I do this whenever I'm decompressing in front of the TV (which isn't nearly as much as I should).  I have a great little german manicure kit also.  Maybe you lucky dogs can cojole your better half into giving you a hand with your footski's.  It can be fun...except when you get tickled- har har har har.

I also like the "Doc Johnson's" Foot soak.  It has oatmeal and emery salts in it.  I sometimes just soak in the tub with a packet or two.  It's at any drugstore.

You will know real quick what shoes hurt you when you play and man does that make for a long night.  It's funny, but I've had great walking shoes hurt my feet when I was playing drums before.

Anyways, your body is a big part of your instrument. I think most of the longer term members hear at DC know this.

I see... do feet inherently have fungus on them?

for me it's all about time these days...if I get athlete's foot (god forbid) or even worse JOCK ITCH.  I'll spray them with "fast actin tinactin"

I don't like potassium permaganate cause it gives me purple feet.  

But yeah, I see your point.  I was just stating what I do to my feet when I don't have athlete's foot.

You know what fungus I have that I can't get rid of?  It's toenail fungi.  I smashed this particular tootsie when I was a teenager and my ex podiatrist told me that there wasn't much he could do about it.  Have you heard any natural remedies.  I guess the western alternative medicine is hard on your organs.

anyhow
peace out
f

My wife's pediatrist recommended she treat her toenail fungus with Vick's Vapor Rub. He said it worked as well as the prescription stuff without the side effects for a fraction of the cost. Now if I can just get her to get some and try it. I still give her foot rubs but the toe sucking is OUT!  

I googled it and found this. Seems Vick's worked for this person.

http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/toe/107245.html

Wow, what a topic with which to make my first post!  Been waiting for months to pick my spot...

Anyway,
I took the toenail fungus pill and it worked for me with no side effects.  The doctor did perform some kind of kidney test after six months to make sure there were no issues.  You have to take it until the nail completely regrows and for me that was about a year and 3 months.  I completed the treatment about a year and a half ago and there has been no recurrance since.

If it ever does come back I think I'll try Bart's method first...

I just did the cornmeal treatment on my feet yesterday evening ..... and I feel great! I only soaked them for an hour, so I think I'll soak them again in the next day or so.

If you don't know what to do with the used cornmeal once you're done, you can put it out on your lawn to fight mold and fungus. I strain the liquid and spray it on my trees that have fungus on their leaves, and spread the solid cornmeal on the lawn anywhere I'm battling mushrooms or other fungi.

Cornmeal is a great fungicide ... don't waste it!

Absolutely.

In fact, I use Corn Gluten Meal as a fertilizer on my lawn. Although Corn Gluten Meal and Cornmeal are two different things, they are corn based and will not harm your lawn.

You know, at first I thought "how weird... drummers talking about foot health."

but you know-- this makes sense.  I caught an unbeliveably persistent (like 4 years) case of athletes foot from a guitarist I was on tour with... it was no fun.  your feet are just 2 of the other 2,000 things you need to take care of, health-wise.  and since their both covered from sight 2/3 of the day and the farthest things from your mind (literally), they tend to get lost in the fray.

suggestion #1:  except for when your loading in (where you'll want covered toes for obvious reasons), wear sandals on tour.  keep your feet aereated.  if not sandals, then some sort of shoe that breathes.  you really don't want your feet to be stewing in the van/on the bus.

suggestion #2:  when athelete's foot rears it's ugly head, here's another home cure:  GARLIC.  now be forewarned that this won't make you the most popular member of the band, but... get some fresh cloves of garlic and rub them all over the affected areas of your feet, 'specially between the toes.  keep your feet uncovered and this should clear it up in a matter of days.  works a hell of a lot better than anything I've tried, even dermatologist-prescribed treatments.

I'll give the cornmeal a shot as well sometime... from working 8 hours a day, teaching, and gigging, my feet have been beyond exhausted lately.

rock on.
D