Dr. John O'Hanlon DPM

DIABETES AND YOUR FEET - HEALTHY FOOT HABITS Following good foot care habits will go a long way toward keeping your feet healthy. Here are a few helpful tips. * Antiseptic solutions can burn your skin. Never use them on your feet without your doctor’s approval.... * Never use a heating pad, hot water bottle, or electric blanket on your feet. * Avoid walking barefoot. Most people know to avoid hot pavement or sandy beaches, but even walking barefoot around the house can cause sores or injuries that can get infected. * Protect your feet from heat and cold. * Don’t sit with your legs crossed or stand in one position for long periods of time. *Never attempt to remove corns, calluses, warts, or other foot lesions yourself. Don’t use chemical wart removers, razor blades, corn plasters, or liquid corn or callus removers. Call our office to schedule an appointment, Dr. O'Hanlon will take care of it for you!

DIABETES AND YOUR FEET Managing your diabetes and maintaining a healthy lifestyle helps keep your feet healthy. This should include: * Regular medical exams, including foot checks at every visit and checking your ABCs (A1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol)... * Monitoring your blood sugar daily * Regular exercise * Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables Diabetes raises the amount of sugar in the blood. High sugar levels can damage the nerves in the feet causing a condition called peripheral neuropathy. Nerve damage combined with poor circulation can slow healing and increase the chances of infection. A person who has damaged nerves may lose the sense of feeling in his or her feet. He may not realize an ill-fitting shoe has created a blister. She may not realize she suffered a small cut when walking barefoot across the lawn. With slowed circulation, these small wounds on the feet will not heal easily. Left untreated, they can quickly become serious infections. It’s important for people who have diabetes to practice daily foot care. They should wash their feet daily in warm water with mild soap. Hot water and harsh soaps can damage your skin. Check the water temperature with your fingers or elbow before putting your feet in. Your diabetes may make it difficult to sense water temperature with your feet. Make sure you check your feet and toes, inspecting the tops, sides, soles, heels, and the area in between the toes. If you’re physically unable to inspect your own feet, use a mirror or ask someone to help. Contact your doctor immediately if you discover any sores, redness, cuts, blisters, or bruises., checking for blisters, cuts and other wounds. Pat your feet to dry them and make sure to dry well. Infections tend to develop in moist areas, so make sure you dry the area between your toes well.Each foot should be dried thoroughly with special attention to the spaces between the toes to prevent infection. Moisturize dry skin. If the skin on your feet feels rough or dry, use lotion or oil. Do not use lotion between your toes. When diabetic foot conditions are left untreated, it can result in a limb-threatening condition. People who suffer from diabetes need to take extra care to protect their feet from infection.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

DIABETES AND YOUR FEET - SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF FOOT PROBLEMS It’s important to recognize early warning signs of foot problems, such as: * Burning, tingling, or painful feet * Loss of sensation to heat, cold, or touch... * Changes to the color or shape of your feet * Loss of hair on the toes, feet, and lower legs * Thickening and yellowing of the toenails * Onset of red spots, blisters, sores, ulcers, infected corns, or ingrown toenails If you have any of these symptoms, call our office and schedule an appointment with Dr. John O'Hanlon DPM. Delay may result in serious health complications. Armonk Podiatry, 34 Maple Avenue, Armonk 914-273-3100 Somers Podiatry, 268 Route 202, Somers 914-276-3718

You make sure that your children’s teeth, ears, skin, and other body parts are healthy and clean. But what about their feet? Keeping your kids feet healthy!! Here's some tips that can help ensure successful development and optimal foot health for kids: -Look carefully at your newborn’s feet. Be on the lookout for anything unusual. Problems you notice at birth may not disappear by themselves. Early treatment can often correct abnormalities, such as club foot, a congenital cond...Continue reading

Ingrown Toenails It's just how it sounds a toenail that has grown into the skin. Incorrect nail cutting, trauma or ill-fitting footwear can cause the nail to break and grow into the skin causing pain, redness, swelling and in severe cases, infection. Often the most effective treatment for this is nail surgery to remove or partially remove the nail. Conservative care by your podiatrist is also an option but it can be difficult to resolve the problem completely without surgical intervention. Antibiotics may need to be used alongside podiatric care. To prevent ingrown toenails cut straight across and not down the sides. If you suspect having an ingrown toenail, please call for an appointment today 914-276-3718 or 914-276-3807.

SUMMER FOOT CARE (part 2) - The warm days of summer are almost upon us. As we break out the summer wardrobe and footwear here is some foot care advice for the summer months... Watch out for flip-flops: While flip-flops are popular and convenient to wear, they put the wearer at risk of developing foot problems. Flips flops don’t have the necessary support. A flat piece of plastic, rubber or leather does not provide enough support in the arch area of the foot. If worn for a pro...longed period of time, they can cause severe arch pain or pain on the ball of the foot. Also, flip-flops offer no stability for the foot, causing the foot to move while walking. As a result, blisters, or pain on the ball of the foot can develop. Flip flops do protect the foot from the hot sand at the beach, or prevent the spread of athlete’s foot or plantar warts at the pool, but you’re more prone to injury because you’ve got your toes exposed. Prevent Fungal Infections and plantar warts: If you have prone to sweaty feet, you are more prone to fungal infections. In the warm, summer months, take time to expose your feet, without socks, to the air more often, especially if you wear shoes and socks all day. Have 2 or 3 different pairs of shoes that you rotate through. Plantar warts are noncancerous skin growths, caused by a viral infection in the outer layer of skin on the soles of your feet. The culprit is a strain of virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). They develop when the virus enters your body through tiny cuts, breaks or other weak spots on the bottoms of your feet. Warts can cause irritation or minor pain and they thrive in warm, moist environments. If the virus spreads from the first site of infection, more warts may appear. Beware of communal showers, locker rooms and swimming pools as foot fungus and warts can be easily acquired in these areas.

SUMMER FOOT CARE (part 1) - The warm days of summer are almost upon us. As we break out the summer wardrobe and footwear here is some foot care advice for the summer months.... Injuries: Going barefoot in the summer is only natural and has some benefits for short periods of time, but is not recommended for outside the home. Too often, injuries occur from punctures or cuts. Always wear footwear outside the home. If engaging in water activities, such as canoeing or kayaking, tr...y to wear water shoes or sandals to protect your feet along rocky shorelines or river beds. If an injury as occurred, contact Dr. O'Hanlon, your doctor or ER/Urgent Care. If you are a diabetic, shoes should be worn at ALL times to avoid an injury. Even the slightest scrape can be cause for alarm among people with diabetes, where healing can be difficult and may lead to limb amputation. Heel Care: During the summer, the skin on the bottom of your feet is prone to dryness and cracking due to excessive sweating. In extreme cases, your feet can bleed or become infected. Use a pumice stone on your heels everyday in the shower or bath. Apply a softening foot cream to the heels twice a day. If an over the counter cream doesn’t help, talk to Dr. O'Hanlon about a prescription product. Sunscreen: Don’t forget to apply sunscreen to the tops of your feet and toes. If your feet are exposed, they can get sunburned.

Verrucae Otherwise known as a plantar wart, the verruca is a viral infection of the skin. They can be found anywhere on the bottom of your feet, the base of the toes, forefoot or the heel that can cause pain or tenderness when walking or standing. It appears as a small, fleshy, rough, grainy growth (lesion) that interrupt the normal lines and ridges in the skin of your foot. The pressure of walking can cause plantar warts to grow inward beneath a hard, thick layer of skin. ...Visually you might see black pinpoints, which are commonly called wart seeds but are actually small, clotted blood vessels. These tough growths can be very painful and are notoriously difficult to treat. Anyone can develop plantar warts, but this type of wart is more likely to affect children and teenagers, people with weakened immune systems, people who have had plantar warts before and/or people who walk barefoot where exposure to a wart-causing virus is common, such as locker rooms. Plantar warts are caused by HPV. The virus enters your body through tiny cuts, breaks or other weak spots on the bottom of your feet. They can spread through skin-to-skin contact or on surfaces in places like public pools and showers. It is advised that people do not use over-the-counter remedies as these can in fact cause the virus to spread, or the treatments can damage surrounding healthy tissue. See your doctor for the lesion on your foot if: -It is bleeding, painful or changes in appearance or color -Your discomfort from it interferes with daily activities -You also have diabetes or poor sensation in your feet -You also have a weakened immune system because of immune-suppressing drugs, HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders -You aren't sure whether the lesion is a wart To reduce your risk of plantar warts: -Avoid direct contact with warts. This includes your own warts. -Wash your hands carefully after touching a wart. -Keep your feet clean and dry. Change your shoes and socks daily -Avoid walking barefoot around swimming pools and locker rooms -Don't pick at or scratch warts Don't use the same emery board, pumice stone or nail clipper on your warts as you use on your healthy skin and nails. Podiatrists have multiple options to treat verrucae. Give our office a call today to discuss how we can help you with them. 914-276-3718 or 914-273-3100.

A Very Wonderful and Special Memorial Day 2020 ================================= On Tuesday May 19th we were told that "Governor Cuomo has just announced that municipalities are able to hold Memorial Day ceremonies for 10 people or less in attendance as per CDC guidelines. The final decision will be up to local governments to make. Ideally, each can make arrangements to broadcast the proceedings."... Our observance was done on Friday. The video was just finished and is part of this post. Please watch the video https://youtu.be/W_wLTUBnC7s We live in a very special Town in a wonderful and special Country. Over the past 250 years over 1,000,000 Americans have given their life in service to our Country and to preserve our way of life., We call these people heroes, we call them our fallen American soldiers. Monday May 25th, 2020, always the last Monday in May is there special day when we remember them. A big thank you to everyone who participated and worked to hold this observance for our fallen soldiers this Memorial Day. In order to give our producer, director, editor and camera man, John White some time we held our observance on Friday. (Saturday was a rainy day) it was posted on our Facebook page NorthSalemNYInfo and in fact several families from North Salem also attended staying in their cars. American Legion Post Commander Herb Geller (98) was also in attendance. I want to especially thank the people who worked with the Town to set this up. When asked EVERYONE said, "Yes, no problem, what can we do, where do you want us, what time should we be there, we have that covered; Thank you John White for doing all of the camera work and editing, Deputy Supervisor Peter Kamenstein our MC, CFFD Department Chief Sean Partenio and 1st Assistant Chief Jeff Dayday, NSVAC Ambulance Corp President Kurt Guldan, and NSVAC Captain Maria Hlushko, Chief Tom Howley NSPD, Karen Roach CFFD Women's Auxiliary, Reverend Tim Wagner Croton Falls Baptist Church, Alan Keeley CFFD (Taps), Trish and Tim Gallagher, Peter VanScoy, Dr. John M. O'Hanlon - American Legion Post 1866, Herb Geller Post 1866 Commander as we well as other members of the CFFD Department who were in attendance with the Fire Trucks. including those in full uniform; Justin and Jason Blauvelt, Martin Aronchick (also Town Board Member), Gary Weber and I am sure others. When I thanked Gary he told me he has been to the Memorial Day observance for the last 50 years and wasn't going to miss this year's event. We all maintained our social distancing and had masks on because of the COVID19 pandemic. John White deserves special thanks for spending most of this Weekend editing the tape. Be Safe Warren Lucas

This weekend we honor the men and women who bravely served our nation and paid the ultimate price, giving their lives for our freedom.

On May 16, 2020 NY Governor Andrew Cuomo stated: "We will allow elective surgeries to resume in Westchester County including at Ambulatory Surgery Centers." If you were considering having foot surgery or had a surgery scheduled but had to cancel due to NY on Pause, you can now give our office a call to discuss scheduling it! Dr. John O'Hanlon can perform many different podiatric surgical procedures in Northern Westchester Hospital or the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Westches...ter. Armonk Podiatry 914-273-3100 Somers Podiatry 914-276-3718

Did you know.....The human foot has 42 muscles, 26 bones, 33 joints, and at least 50 ligaments and tendons made of strong fibrous tissues to keep all the moving parts together plus 250,000 sweat glands. The foot is an evolutionary marvel, capable of handling hundreds of tons of force, your weight in motion, every day. The foot’s myriad of parts, including the toes, heel, and ball, work in harmony to get you from one place to another. But the stress of carrying you around pu...ts your feet at high risk of injury, more so than other parts of your body. Foot conditions often go unnoticed, and if left untreated, they can cause discomfort and lead to additional health problems. Give our office a call to schedule an appointment to have your feet attended to by a professional who specializes in treating all issues involving your feet and ankles such as ingrown toenails, bunions, fungal infections, corns and calluses, foot odor and more. Somers Podiatry, 268 Route 202, Somers 914-276-3718 Armonk Podiatry, 34 Maple Avenue, Armonk 914-273-3100