'My Feet Are Killing Me': Can Dr Sarah help Jolynn get rid of calluses on her stone-hard feet?
What if you have a genetic condition for which doctors have no treatment? In the latest episode of 'My Feet Are Killing Me,' Dr Sarah Haller is visited by a patient who has stone-hard feet, giving the doctors some major challenges.
Dr Sarah meets a young patient called Jolynn, who is traveling to New Jersey with her sister, Wendi. The patient visits Dr Sarah for an ultimate diagnosis of a genetic condition about which no one knows anything about. The feet have terrible calluses around bumps and heels that she can never completely remove. Jolynn found it difficult and unpleasant to walk on the callus that had hardened to the consistency of cement. She compares her calluses to hot water balloons that bleed and stink when cracked. While several physicians promised Jolynn that it would go away or that she would outgrow the issue, it seemed to worsen with time, forcing her to resort to Dr Sarah as her last hope.
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Jolynn seemed to have a similar issue on her hands (around the knuckles), which was ultimately extremely painful and frightening. Dr Sarah inquires about Jolynn's current solution after hearing about her struggles at school and socializing. She'd started using udder balm to make her calluses less painful. She also mentions wearing fluffy socks to keep the moisture in, but it still looks like a desert.
Dr Sarah was taken aback when she finally looked at her feet. She observes the calluses dropping off like dust when she removes her socks. She observes Jolynn's feet deteriorating and the presence of various sorts of fissures (dry open wounds). The feet appeared to have large slashes on the bottom of the heels and the sides at one point, giving the impression that she had been walking on blades the entire time. Even though she couldn't feel anything under her foot, applying pressure caused a lot of discomforts.
Dr Sarah could see crevasses rising on her foot and gradually going up to her heels. Her sister recalls Jolynn being taken to a doctor when she was young, who informed her that she has rapid skin cells that develop 50 thousand times faster than regular human beings. Even though her disease could not be fully diagnosed, Dr Sarah informs her that she has Palmoplantar Keratoderma (PPK), a diverse collection of genetic or acquired conditions defined by the excessive epidermal thickness of the palms and soles. Since such calluses are as hard as concrete, they just keep growing and resurfacing. Jolynn's callus was about a centimeter thick. Dr Sarah also mentions that when the layers accumulate, the bacteria trapped between them produce a horrible odor, which the patient describes as smelling as corn chips.
Dr Sarah, who is known for steering patients away from surgery, suggests that there is no fixed treatment procedure. She offers many options, including a special concoction developed for her super skin in an attempt to thin it out. She then proceeds to use her tools to trim the extra and plan how to make it easier for her to walk - presumably painlessly. Jolynn is put on a tropical regimen by Dr Sarah.
Dr Sarah recommends lotions and antibiotics to be applied to the bottoms of the feet to aid with the odor and to slow the growth of calluses. Dr Sarah uses sanding equipment instead of a blade, since she cannot risk using a blade in such a situation. She finally reached a point where the bottom of her foot felt smooth with no serrated edges after trying to remove all the calluses. As Dr Sarah helps her feet appear better and prevents it from happening too soon, she urges Jolynn to stick to her routine if she doesn't want to face another embarrassing situation in public.
'My Feet Are Killing Me' Season 4 airs every Wednesday at 9 pm ET on TLC.
