Archive for the ‘Children Foot Conditions’ Category

Toenail fungus is unsightly, though rarely harmful. Toenail fungus in children however, can have a powerful effect on your child’s self-esteem. They may feel “ugly” and “deformed.” Your child may feel “dirty” and his/her feet may be “stinky” all the time. Your child may even fear what is happening to her/his feet. This can be stressful for your child, and may cause feelings of inadequacy, as well as problems with body image.

If you believe your child or children may have toenail fungus, make an appointment today for an examination, diagnosis, and treatment of toenail fungus in children.

Here are a few things to look for, if you believe your child may have toenail fungus…

• Discoloration of the toenails, yellow, brown, or black.
• Change in texture of toenail, causing the nail to thicken or become brittle and crumble along the edge.
• A more unpleasant odor than the usual “stinky” feet of most kids.

Here are a few things you should do for your child if you believe he or she may have toenail fungus…

• Have a talk with your child. Explain what toenail fungus is, and calm the fear he or she may be feeling.
• Tell your child she/he is not at fault. The fungus that causes toenail fungus in children can grow in many places, usually a dark, moist environment – just like a sneaker or tennis shoe. There are home remedies you may want to try.
• Consult with your child’s podiatrist for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
• Topical treatments for toenail fungus in children tend to be very ineffective, as they are for adults, frankly. Do not waste the time or money involved on a treatment that is only about 5% effective.

At the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington we are on the cutting edge of treatments for toenail fungus in children. Our new GenesisPlus Laser System is, we believe, the most effective laser treatment for toenail fungus on the market today. The treatment is painless, and will only take about 30 minutes. You child will have nothing to fear, and he or she will be able to resume normal activities immediately.

We have made a number of articles about laser treatment for toenail fungus available to help you make up your mind.

Contact us today if you feel you need help in deciding the best approach for your child.

Here is a startling headline: Children’s Feet Will Change – A Lot – as They Grow!

So, what else is new, right? Well, we’re not talking about the length of the child’s foot alone. That would be too simple. No, the width of your child’s foot may change over time as well; going from narrow to wide or from wide to narrow. The good news is, there are wide shoes for kids available today.

To have you children’s feet checked by an experienced podiatrist, make an appointment today at the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington.

If you believe your child may have wide feet, taking care to ensure you are buying the best possible shoes is critical to a comfortable fit, and for providing their feet room to grow and develop properly.

Here are some tips from a Seattle podiatrist for buying wide shoes for kids…

• Have your children’s feet measured at least every 6 months, especially before you purchase a new pair of shoes for a child.
• Some children’s feet will grow narrow, even if they start off wide. Kids are constantly growing and their feet are always changing as they mature.
• Socks can play an important role in shoe fit, since their designs vary from thick to thin materials. If your child’s shoes are tight, try having them wear thinner socks.
• An Extra Wide (X-Wide) kid’s shoe is only ¼” wider than a normal Wide (W).

Above all, DO NOT buy your children shoes that are one size larger to accommodate their wide feet. If you do, the shoes will just be longer, the width won’t change much. And make sure to shop where wide sizes are offered. We recommend the children’s shoes section at PlanetShoes.com as a great place to find wide shoes for kids.

If you’re unsure on what type of shoes to get for your kids, please make an appointment today for help from an experienced children’s foot care professional.

Being pigeon toed (also called “in-toed”) usually does not cause serious problems for children, in fact, in most children in-toeing will usually resolve itself naturally. However, in some children the condition may be quite severe. In these cases, when your child needs pigeon toed treatment the doctors at the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington specialize in children’s foot care.

Causes of in-toeing

There are three causes of in-toeing in healthy children. They are metatarsus adductus, internal tibial torsion, and excessive femoral anteversion.

• Metatarsus adductus is a curve in the foot.  It is sometimes treated by putting the feet in casts prior to the child’s usual walking age.
• Internal tibial torsion is a twist in the tibia (the leg bone between the knee and the ankle) and will usually go away as the child grows. In the most extreme cases surgery may be necessary, but this is very rare.
• Excessive femoral anteversion is an inward twist in the femur (thighbone) which, once again, will naturally resolve itself by the time the child is 6-8 years old. Here too, and in only very rare and extreme cases, surgery may be required to resolve this condition.

Being patient and allowing your child the time to grow naturally is usually the best treatment for in toeing in children. In toeing does not cause arthritis and usually does not lead to increased clumsiness. In fact the most common concern of parents whose children are pigeon toed is finding shoes that fit. We can help you with this.

To have your child’s in-toeing evaluated and explained, make an appointment today at the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington, where our doctors, Dr. Douglas S. Hale and Dr. Lawrence Z. Huppin, can bring more than 20 years experience each to the evaluation of your child’s feet. They are skilled foot and ankle physicians with advanced training, respected credentials, and meaningful experience in all types of foot conditions and effective treatments.

The condition known as children’s flat foot is not abnormal in younger kids. It is, in fact, quite normal for young children to have little or no arch to their feet as they grow and develop. When your child reaches the age of 6-10 years old however, if there is still little or no arch development, there may be a problem.

For a full evaluation of your child’s feet, and to find out if he or she suffers from children’s flat foot, make an appointment today to visit the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington.

Arch supports for children’s flat foot

When your child is very young, arch supports are not the recommended treatment for children’s flat foot. In fact, the best footwear for young children will have no arch support, allowing your child’s feet to strengthen and grow naturally. It is only as the child grows older that children’s flat foot may become an issue. In this case, the use of orthotics, or arch supports, has proven useful in treating children’s flat foot.

For more information on orthotics from the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington, and to understand why our orthotics are better for your children’s flat foot, go here.

The use of orthotics, where necessary, tends to be the most effective treatment for your children’s flat foot condition. These are conservative, non-invasive treatments and, in fact, surgery for this condition is rarely necessary.

Orthotics for children’s flat foot will…

• Support the foot
• Eliminate pain
• Encourage normal development of the arch
• Prevent pelvic and spinal postural deformities

For effective diagnosis and treatment of children’s flat foot in Seattle, the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington is the first choice of parents and referring physicians. Make an appointment today for your child, and be sure to bring a couple of their shoes with you.

There is simply no reason for children’s foot pain to persist, not when one of our primary specialties at the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington is children’s foot pain. Both of our doctors, Dr. Douglas Hale, DPM, and Dr. Larry Huppin, DPM, treat children’s feet every day.

The beginning of a New Year is the perfect time to bring your child in for an annual foot check-up. You should make an appointment today if your child is experiencing periodic to chronic foot pain, or if he/she is experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Painful feet, ankles or legs at rest or during activity
• Your child trips more than other kids
• Shoes wear out asymmetrically
• Any sort of unusual gait pattern
• Your child requests to be carried a lot.  Especially if more than his or her peers
• In the presence of unusual skin conditions

Children’s Foot Pain Check-up

Your children’s foot pain check-up will be a comprehensive examination of every aspect of your children’s foot health, walking patterns, and shoes. Please make sure you bring at least two pairs of your child’s shoes with you to the check-up.

The examination will include:

• Muscle examination and testing
• Joint evaluation
• Evaluate foot development relative to other kids their age
• Evaluate how they walk (their gait)
• Compare your child’s feet to other members of the family. Check for family history of foot problems
• Examine skin and nails
• Evaluate shoes for any unusual wear patterns
• Evaluate their feet relative to the sports they enjoy

Especially if your child is planning to play any of the upcoming spring sports, now is the time to schedule your child’s foot check-up.

Contact us today to schedule a foot check-up for your child in our Seattle clinic.

Children who have foot problems need specialized care. For the past 20 years, the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington in Seattle has helped thousands of kids and adults to walk without pain. One of our specialties is helping of kids of all ages—from toddlers to teenagers. We know that foot problems in children can worsen over time and cause difficulties in their physical, social, and psychological development. This is one of the reasons our Seattle podiatry clinic is devoted to positive results over the long term.

How We Help Your Children’s Feet

Children’s feet have unique needs. Young children and kids with growing feet often need a different approach than adult feet. We have identified some of the best practices for children’s feet. Whether your child has a foot pain, sports injury, or help with proper foot mechanics, we are here to help. Our Seattle clinic has convenient appointment times for families. Click here to request an appointment.

If your kids are experiencing foot or ankle pain, don’t wait. If you live in Seattle or the Puget Sound area the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington has effective treatment you can trust. Plus, we love to help kids!

These are some of the conditions we treat in children’s feet:

• Heel and arch pain (also known as Sever’s Disease)
• Severe flat foot
• Athletic injuries
• Foot and ankle arthritis
• In-toeing
• Ingrown toenails
• Proper footwear

Make an appointment here for your child here.

Sever’s disease (also known as calcaneal apophysitis) is another name for heel pain in children. It occurs when there is a disturbance to the growth plate at the back of the heel bone where the Achilles tendon attaches to it. This contributes to inflammation in the heel area. Heel pain can make it difficult to participate in sports. It can also make it painful to walk, run, and jump, limiting basic activities.

If your child is experiencing heel pain, it can usually be quickly relieved. A correct diagnosis and treatment plan can help get kids back to normal as soon as possible. At the Seattle Heel Pain Center , treating heel pain is one of our specialties. We can determine the reasons for your child’s heel pain. We also institute a treatment plan for pain relief and prevention.

Some of the risk factors for Sever’s disease include:

• Your child plays sports. While the exact cause for Sever’s disease is not entirely clear, repeated minor trauma from sports (or activities on hard surfaces) can stress the cartilage in the foot.
• Your child has tight calf muscles. When there is too much pull from the calf muscles to the Achilles tendon, it can strain the developing growth plate.
• Your child is between the ages of 10-14. This is the most common time for heel pain due to growth spurts.
• Your child is overweight. Children who are heavier are more at risk because of the extra pressure on the feet.
• Your child has a pronated foot that rolls inward at the ankle. Excess pronation has been shown to make Sever’s disease more likely because of the uneven weight on the heel bone.

Make an appointment at the Seattle Foot and Ankle clinic

At the Seattle Heel Pain Center one of our specialties is helping children who have heel pain. Dr. Huppin and Dr. Hale are Seattle podiatrists who will evaluate your child and find the right treatment plan. At our heel pain center we provide leading-edge care to relieve the pain and prevent heel and arch pain from returning.

Children ages 10-14 are most susceptible to what is known as Sever’s disease or calcaneal apophysitis. This is an inflammation of the growth plate on the back of the heel bone. Pain is usually felt at the back and side of the heel and is usually relieved when your child is not active. Things like running, jumping, and sports can be especially painful. While this problem does go away overtime, it can be self-limiting and in some severe cases cause limping.

If your child is experiencing symptoms of heel pain, make an appointment to visit with a podiatrist for a checkup. At the Seattle Heel Pain Center, we love helping kids. Both of our podiatrists work with children to provide a correct diagnosis and treat the pain and swelling. Having an evaluation is an important step because there are a few other rare problems that can cause heel pain.  It can also help to prevent minor heel pain from becoming more significant.

Make an appointment for your child to see Dr. Huppin or Dr. Hale.

In-toeing is a very common condition in young children. It happens when your child’s feet point inward or when there is a “pigeon toe.” While intoeing does not usually cause serious foot problems and often goes away on its own, it can cause difficulty with finding shoes that fit. Also, in some cases, it doesn’t get better on its own and help from a podiatrist is necessary.

If your child has intoeing, the feet will point in toward each other or there will be a curve in the foot – see drawings here of intoeing. There are different treatment options and in rare cases some children get surgery to help correct the condition.  If there is a severe twist in the leg bone (tibia) or thigh bone (femur) that might bother your child due to its appearance, this problem can be helped with surgery.  This is extremely rare, however, and surgery is always the very last resort.

There are three main causes of intoeing in healthy children:

• Metatarsus adductus: This is a curve in the foot that is noticeable when your child is a baby. Sometimes casts are used in young children (ages 4 to 6 months) to straighten the foot and allow shoes to fit properly.

• Internal tibial torsion: This is a twist in the tibia that can be noticed when your child starts to walk. In this condition, braces and special shoes are not very helpful. The best option is to discuss what can be done with a podiatrist.

• Excessive femoral anteversion: This is an inward twist in the femur (thigh bone) that usually shows up in children between the ages of 2 and 4. It can get worse during early childhood.

A skilled podiatrist can help you determine if your child needs extra care for intoeing. At the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington in Seattle, we are experts in all conditions of children’s feet. Bring your child in for an evaluation today. Request an appointment here.

Dr. Huppin and Dr. Hale are Seattle podiatrists who treat adults and children who need long-term, effective foot care. Children, in particular, are some of our favorite patients. Because we are dedicated to the needs of children’s feet, we work hard to educate parents on how kid’s feet are different.

Most parents don’t realize that children’s feet have distinct needs. The mechanics of foot and ankles is just as important in children (if not more so), and we are here to help.

If you live near Seattle and need a pediatric podiatrist, we can evaluate your child’s feet. These are some of the foot problems we treat in kids:

• Heel Pain: Heel pain is one of the most common foot complaints in children. It is often related to a disturbance in the growth plate at the back of the heel bone. This is known as Sever’s disease—learn more about it here.
• Athletic Injuries: Kids love sports and being active, but too much of a good thing can cause injury.
• Ingrown Toenails: If not treated early, ingrown toenails turn into a painful infection. This is a quick and painless procedure—don’t worry!
• Flat Feet in Children: If you’re wondering if arch supports, special shoes, or in-shoe orthotics necessary for your kids, find out more here.
• In-toeing: In-toeing or “pigeon-toes” are very common in young children. However, sometimes it can cause problems. There are three main reasons for in-toeing in healthy children.
• Arthritis: Even young children can experience foot arthritis. We’ve researched some of the best ways to treat foot arthritis in kids and improve walking speed, pain, activity, and disability levels.

Make an appointment to have your child’s feet evaluated.