Why hairy toes are not such a bad thing

What your feet say about your health

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – So here's a question for you, do you have hairy toes? If you do, there's no need to be embarrassed. Hairy toes may not be so bad, but when it comes to our feet, there are some other things we need to watch out for.

Your feet say a lot about your overall health, good and bad. While hairy toes may not be something you want the world to see, there's no need to be alarmed.  With other things, like brittle nails, that's not the case.

Dr. Vimal Reddy of First Coast Foot & Ankle Clinic said, "Hairy toes are actually a good thing. That means you have good circulation to your lower extremities, which everyone needs."

Dr. Reddy says it's just fine to shave it off if you don't want to look at it but when it comes to other issues with your feet, it's nothing you want to try to hide or ignore. "A lot of people have thick, yellow nails and that can show signs of a fungal infection. Other times your nails can show signs of systemic disease. Like pitting in your nails or clubbing can be signs of heart disease."

Your feet can even be where you see the first signs of diabetes. "Diabetics sometimes don't know they have issues and they will come in with numbness and tingling in their feet. They're not sure why and that can be an early sign of diabetes," Dr. Reddy said.

Dr. Reddy often discovers more serious health problems in his patients and that's why he encourages you to see a podiatrist every year. Especially since we live in Florida,  and a lot of people don't do enough to protect their feet from the sun. "People come in with spots on their feet all of the time," Reddy said. "Ninety percent of the time it's fine but 10 percent of the time it's skin cancer and we can save someone's life if we catch it early enough."