‘Walking barefoot during Navratri can lead to several infections’

NAVI MUMBAI: While going barefoot may be the spiritual tradition during the nine days of Navratri,

skin specialists

and

doctors

caution people about this practice. With so much of infection and

ailments

in the air, they advise people against this and say with the unpredictable rains, walking barefoot in dirty, flooded water is not a healthy habit.

Dr. Chitra Nayak, consulting dermatologist,

Wockhardt Hospital

, said that walking barefoot is certainly a health hazard. ‘‘Unfortunately, the quality of roads and pavements are not good. There are a lot of sharp edged gravel pieces, glass shards, nails and other such objects that can penetrating into ones foot and cause injuries. Dirt and dust gets deposited in the groves, causing an abscess. This could lead to tetanus bacterial spores which can cause tetanus in those not protected by antibodies to tetanus,’’ Nayak said.

She added that the city has many patients suffering from tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. “An object which pierces the foot may be contaminated by sputum which carries the tubercular bacilli. Bacilli in sputum may also gain entry through pre-existing cuts or abrasions on the feet,’’ she said.

With spells of heavy rain during Navratri, the feet remain wet and moist for a long time that can lead to fungal infections, especially between toes. “Walking barefoot can also cause dryness of skin, cracked heels, formation of calluses which may crack and become painful or predispose to infections,” she said.

Dr.

Bharat G Jagiasi

who heads the critical care unit at Terna Speciality Hospital, said that walking barefoot can allow parasites to enter our body through the skin and can cause parasitic infections that can affect our stomach and lungs.