Summer Foot Care: Protecting Your Feet from Heat, Sandals, and Barefoot Hazards

Summer and Your Feet

Summer changes how we use our feet dramatically — more time barefoot, more sandal wearing, more outdoor activity, and more exposure to pools, beaches, and public spaces. While summer means more freedom for feet, it also introduces specific risks that aren’t present the rest of the year. A little awareness goes a long way toward keeping your feet healthy through the warmer months.

The Sandal Problem

Flip-flops and flat sandals offer virtually zero arch support, heel cushioning, or toe protection. For an occasional short walk, this is fine. But wearing flat sandals as all-day footwear — especially on hard surfaces like pavement and concrete — contributes significantly to plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, and metatarsal stress in patients who have even mild biomechanical vulnerabilities.

If you prefer open footwear in summer, look for sandals with a contoured footbed and slight heel elevation rather than completely flat construction. Brands like Birkenstock, Vionic, and OOFOS offer supportive sandal designs that allow breathability without sacrificing arch support. Avoid wearing flat flip-flops for distances greater than a few hundred feet if you have a history of heel or arch pain.

Fungal Infections Thrive in Summer

Athlete’s foot (tinea pedis) and fungal nail infections flourish in warm, moist environments — exactly the conditions created by sweating feet in summer footwear. Public pools, locker rooms, and water parks are high-transmission environments for dermatophyte fungi.

Prevention: always wear water shoes or sandals in public pool areas and locker rooms, dry feet thoroughly between the toes after swimming or bathing, and change socks immediately if they become damp. If you develop scaling, itching, or redness between the toes or around the heel, antifungal cream applied twice daily for 2–4 weeks treats most cases. Nail fungus requires longer treatment — see a podiatrist for topical or oral antifungal management.

Barefoot Hazards

Walking barefoot in grass, on decks, and at the beach feels wonderful but introduces real injury risks. Glass and metal fragments in grass cause lacerating injuries. Wooden decks deliver splinters. Hot sand can cause first-degree burns on sensitive soles, and hot pavement (which can exceed 140°F on a sunny summer day) causes serious burns in diabetic patients with neuropathy who cannot sense extreme temperatures.

Diabetic patients must never walk barefoot outdoors — or even indoors — during summer or any other season. The combination of neuropathy (reduced sensation) and peripheral arterial disease creates risk of undetected burns, cuts, and ulcers that can progress to serious complications.

Heel Cracking and Dry Skin

Sandal wearing exposes the heels to open air, allowing moisture to evaporate from the heel skin. Combined with the mechanical stress of barefoot walking, summer is prime season for heel fissures — deep cracks in the heel skin that can become painful and infected if untreated.

Daily application of a urea-based heel cream (10–25% urea) after bathing prevents cracking in prone individuals. For established fissures, gentle daily mechanical debridement with a pumice stone followed by moisturizer is effective. Deep, bleeding fissures warrant podiatric evaluation for debridement and wound care.

Sunscreen on the Feet

The tops of the feet are among the most commonly sunburned body areas — and among the most frequently forgotten when applying sunscreen. Apply SPF 30+ sunscreen to the tops and sides of the feet at the start of any prolonged outdoor activity and reapply every 2 hours. The dorsum (top) of the foot has thin skin that burns quickly and heals slowly.

Staying Active Without Overuse Injuries

Summer often motivates a return to outdoor exercise after a sedentary winter and spring. Dramatically increasing walking, running, or hiking distance in new warm-weather shoes is a classic recipe for plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, and tendinopathy. Increase activity level gradually — no more than 10% per week — and prioritize appropriate footwear for each activity rather than wearing beach footwear for exercise.

If foot pain develops during your summer activities, early evaluation typically leads to faster resolution than waiting and hoping it resolves on its own.

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Balance Foot & Ankle — Howell & Bloomfield Township, MI

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Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM

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Dr. Carl Jay, DPM

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Dr. Daria Gutkin, DPM

Podiatrist

Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM

Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM is a double board-certified podiatrist and foot & ankle surgeon at Balance Foot & Ankle Specialists in Southeast Michigan. With over a decade of clinical experience, he specializes in heel pain, bunions, diabetic foot care, sports injuries, and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Biernacki is a member of the APMA and ACFAS, and his patient education content on MichiganFootDoctors.com and YouTube has reached over one million views.