In the media, as on Tiktok, the accounts dedicated to tips flourish. And each time the temperatures tumble, a “comfort” tip resurfaces: that of placing aluminum around its sole, in its shoe, to better isolate its foot and refract its heat. Practical and economical, of course. Except that it simply does not work.
Aluminum paper: an unnecessary, even dangerous solution
Contacted on the subject, the podiatrist Jean-Loup Lafeuillade does not hide his surprise in front of a DIY “perfectly useless “he said. In reality, cutting an aluminum sheet to double a sole can occupy you for a few minutes. But that is not likely to keep you warm. Aluminum foil reflects heat by radiation, of course, but for that, it needs a clear heat source and … a layer of air. (Not a sole of foot that crushes it).
“It is even potentially dangerous for risky patients” Add the expert. Indeed, diabetic patients, for example, can have a loss of sensitivity in the feet. “”If ever aluminum makes a ball or puts itself in heaps and creates a little bit hard surface, it can create lesions that diabetic patients will not necessarily feel, and potentially worsen. “
Solutions to keep your feet warm
For the aluminum sole, we will go back, therefore. But how can we keep a few degrees in these shoes when you plan to spend outdoors? The question arises, when you know that the feeling of cold can be very uneven from one person to another.
For this, Jean-Loup Lafeuillade lists simple solutions:
- Opt for suitable shoeseither slightly padded, or a little thick, with a comfortable interior (bye-by-canvas sneakers when it is cold). “Or downright adopt filled shoes. In winter, it exists”;
- Use a special Englides in prevention creamif we really fear a particular context of cold;
- Wearing hot socksif possible in natural fibers. “”It’s a very simple thing, almost obvious. But the synthetic fibers let the feet breathe. Nor evacuate sweat “;
- Finally, you have to adapt your shoes to the wearing of socks and at the foot. “When it is very cold, you must avoid having too tight shoes with socks. Because in this case, we will finally increase the cold phenomenon instead of decreasing it.”
Finally if the evil is done, and your feet are frozen, the expert advises never to warm them suddenly “In a hot water bowl ” For example. “”Thermal shock at the toes can be much more deleterious than beneficial ” he alerted. The right way? Reheat his foot quietly, remove the sock, massage it quietly, possibly bring it closer to a heat source without putting it on it. Less aluminum, and more sweetness, in short.