When you are out there just trying to survive, you need to take care of yourself. Your mind and your body are the most important tools you have, so if something goes wrong, you could be in serious trouble. One of the areas that tends to cause problems for many people is the feet.
The Dangers of Trench Foot
Trench foot, or immersion foot, can occur when you are exposing your feet to moist and watery conditions for long periods. Hiking through the mud and constantly wading along streams can cause issues with your feet including blistering, cracked skin between the toes, and even the top layers of skin to peel away from soles of your feet. Eventually, this can reduce a person’s mobility and even stop them from walking until they have healed. These are just the short-term issues. In the long-term, the flesh of the feet could start to die, it could become infected, and it might affect your ability to walk properly ever again.
You should always have an extra pair of boots and socks in your pack to prevent this from happening. Once one of your pairs of boots and socks is drenched, you will want to take them off, let your feet dry, and then put on the new socks and boots. Try to dry the first pair so they will be ready to go later.
How long do you think you could survive if you had these types of issues with your feet? Even simple blisters can make it painful and difficult to walk. You can toughen up your feet to help prevent blisters by spending some time out on the trails hiking and getting used to it in small and slowly increasing dosages. For preventing trench foot, you should always try to keep your feet dry and avoid walking through the water whenever possible.
Take good care of your feet and they will take good care of you.
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