Author Archives: Admin

Myth #1: Dry Heels are Normal

Are dry heels normal?

If there was a patch of dry skin on your face for longer than 2 weeks that showed no sign of improvement, would you scrape it off for years and say it is okay? Of course not! But for some reason, we tolerate the dry skin on our feet. You buy lotion after lotion, foot peels and scrubs and get pedicures. Meanwhile, the dry skin is coming back week after week, month after month, with little improvement from all of your efforts.

TRUTH: If you suffer with dry skin on your feet for more than 2 weeks, it is NOT normal. And it is most likely fungus.

Have foot pain? You may want to trade in your sneakers for high heels!

For years I had been telling my patients to treat their foot pain the way I learned in podiatry school and read on Google: 1) Wear comfortable shoes and avoid high heels or tight shoes. 2) Take anti-inflammatory medication. 3) Take a break.

Sounds easy, right?! Throw on some sneakers, pop a pill, and sit on the couch. Perfect for us working moms!!

A few months ago, I woke up with a stabbing pain in my right foot caused by a neuroma. For those of you lucky enough to have no idea what one of those is, a neuroma is a growth that forms on a nerve in your foot. This lovely thing can get irritated and inflamed, causing severe, shooting pain. Ugly crying pain. So fun.
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Press Release – Product Launch in Meijer Stores

 

 

Dr. Canuso Skincare for Feet announces the launch of 2 products in the OTC footcare aisle in all Meijer stores.

“We are excited to reveal our new partnership with Meijer and have set high sales expectations thanks to our innovative products and aggressive regional marketing strategy” says Dr. Dana Canuso.  “Our user experience is very divergent from what consumers are used to seeing in the footcare/anti-fungal arena.  Customers are enthusiastic about the line’s upscale packaging, deluxe product feel, ease-of-use and incredible results.”

All of the products are “beauty meets clinical” and have a masstige feel, a very progressive combination in OTC footcare.  The brand’s top seller, Foot Repair Serum, will be featured in Meijer and is sure to change the landscape of the footcare aisle.  This dry cracked heel treatment delivers moisturizers and an OTC anti-fungal to the affected area using a patent pending luxurious, quick drying serum.

Dr. Dana Canuso, founder and CEO of Dr. Canuso, LLC., is a podiatrist and chemist who initially formulated the brand’s Skincare for Feet products for her patients.  After overwhelming clinical results and an increase in demand, she began distributing the products initially in doctors offices and online.  Now the products can be found nationwide in medical offices, spas including the Ritz Carlton, supermarkets and both independent and chain pharmacies.

 

Should you get bunion surgery?

At a recent appearance in New York City, one of the women who attended asked me whether or not she needed to get surgery on her bunion.  She had spoken to many people that have said she should or shouldn’t, and just didn’t know what to do.

For those of you who don’t have the privilege of knowing what a bunion is, it is a bump on the inside of your foot where your big toe meets your arch or on the outside of your foot where your little toe meets your foot. Unfortunately, my new “patient” was young, beautiful, and has been dealing with her “ugly bunion feet” for a few years.   Continue reading

Dermascope Magazine – Sandal Ready by Memorial Day

Get Sandal Ready by Memorial DayNothing ruins the look of a new bathing suit more than cracked, dry heels. After a winter in snow boots, riding boots, and thick socks, it is no surprise that clients feel their feet need some extra love.

Just like the body, it takes a few months to get the feet in shape. Now is the perfect time to start clients on a foot care routine that will ensure pedicure-ready toes by Memorial Day.

Fungal Possibilities

Most clients have dry skin on their feet or even cracked heels. Unbeknownst to many clients, and even skin care professionals, dry skin may actually be the beginning stages of a fungus. That little band of dry skin that appears to get better with a pedicure, but then comes back after a few days, could be the start of fungus. This proposal may explain why moisturizers and heel creams make the feet look better for a little while, but never truly solves the problem long-term. Those types of products are only covering up the skin; they are not treating the actual cause of the problem.

Antifungal Solutions

Sandal ready by Memorial Day articleOnce the professional is able to determine that a fungus is the cause of the problem, what can they do to fix it? Fungus likes to live in dark, wet places. As a result, clients should not sleep with socks over lotion-doused feet. This common practice creates a haven for fungus to grow. Instead, professionals should recommend that clients use an antifungal product to treat their feet while sleeping.

Many clients may ask about using a foot file or pumice stone on their feet. However, professionals should make clients aware that fungus loves damaged skin; one of the worst things they can do is over-file their feet. A little exfoliation is nice, but a rough file can create microscopic tears in the skin and give the fungus a nice place to take root.

Furthermore, clients should let their shoes and socks take a break. If a pair is worn today, they should not be worn tomorrow; let them breathe! Contrary to popular belief, cotton socks are not that good for the feet because they can hold up to three times more moisture than the newer sweat-wicking socks. Sticking a wet cotton sock into a dark shoe gives fungi an ideal environment to live and grow.

Clients should also use bleach when it is time for them to clean their shower. It is cheap and it kills fungus where it is most likely to spread.

Advise clients to follow these tips and they will soon be sandal ready!

Read the full article at DermaScope.com

South Jersey Magazine – Treat Embarrassing Foot Problems

Women can wear summer's strappy shoes with confidence thanks to a new product from Dr. Dana Canuso.

Dr. Dana Canuso launches a revolutionary product to treat embarrassing foot problems.

South Jersey Magazine, August 2015
Our feet are two of the hardest-working parts of our bodies. They carry us through our intense workouts, long workdays and countless errands, sometimes taking a beating in the process. When their appearance is less than perfect—whether it’s dry, cracked heels or discolored toenails we’d rather hide them than show them off in summer’s cutest sandals.

Women can wear summer's strappy shoes with confidence thanks to a new product from Dr. Dana Canuso.Dr. Dana Canuso says complaints like these are a daily occurrence at her podiatry practice. Recognized as a Top Doc by South Jersey Magazine in 2013 and 2015, she has been a podiatrist for six years, diagnosing everything from melanoma and diabetes to pulmonary issues just from examining a person’s feet. But the most common treatment her patients seek is a better appearance for their feet.

“On a daily basis I’ll treat women who are concerned with their dry, cracked heels or thick, brittle and discolored toenails,” Dr. Canuso says. “Inevitably they have tried everything such as using a pumice stone or rotating foot file to slough off the skin, soaking their feet in Epsom salt, sleeping with moisturizer on their feet, and even going to a dermatologist. Nothing would work for them.”

As a podiatrist, there was little more Dr. Canuso could recommend to patients beyond a thick heel cream available over the counter, or a steroid cream, but the results were not enough for patients. Seeing this common problem over and over again piqued her interest and led Dr. Canuso to reconsider the methods in which people treat the dry skin on their feet.

“I started testing the theory that these problems were actually a fungus on the foot,” she says, adding that her patients were not too happy to hear that word associated with their feet.

“The skin on your feet is different than the skin anywhere else on your body,” she says. “It’s thicker and is covered by a shoe most of the day. When you have dry skin on your feet and sometimes even cracked heels, you actually have a fungus.”

Dr. Canuso says once patients get over the initial shock of what it is, she educates them on why it’s important to treat it. “You cannot ignore fungus. What starts on the heels can turn into a secondary infection, like fungal toenails,” she says.

treat embarrassing foot problems before and after cracked feetWhen Dr. Canuso started to treat her patients with anti-fungal medications, their symptoms improved. Seeing these results inspired her to create a product that would be effective as well as luxurious for people to use. A chemistry major in college, Dr. Canuso worked with another experienced chemist who had also worked on other well-known skin care products and ultimately they created the first patent pending, FDA-approved antifungal foot serum.

“The active ingredient is an over-thecounter percentage that has been around for years and is safe for daily use,” says Dr. Canuso. “The difference is in the delivery. A serum is more effective than a lotion because it allows a higher concentration of the medication to penetrate the deeper surfaces of the skin without increasing the amount of medication needed.”

She says the serum is much more pleasant to use than lotion. “[With] lotions and creams you have to wait for them to dry. The serum is soft and lightweight, so it goes deep into the skin and dries quickly,” Dr. Canuso says. “There’s no sticky residue, but actually a satiny finish.”

Dr. Canuso recommends using the foot serum twice a day for 21 days, but she says results can be seen after just two days. “I recommend using twice a day, and once feet are healed, you can use once a day or even once a week for maintenance because fungus can come back,” she says, adding that one bottle of serum lasts four to six weeks.

For unsightly toenail fungus, Dr. Canuso has introduced a polish for treatment. “Fungal toenails are thick yellow toenails that can start off as a small problem but can kill the nail if untreated,” she says. “Applying this polish twice a day will treat it and the fungus will grow out with the nail. I recommend using the polish and the serum together to treat the whole foot.”

Currently, her products are available at DrCanuso.com and will be available at local, high-end salons. Dr. Canuso’s products are the first skin care line created exclusively for the feet and by the end of the year she plans to have a full line of nine products.

Dr. Canuso hopes to give renewed confidence to women everywhere through these products.

For more information about Dr. Dana Canuso and her foot care products, follow her on Facebook for news and updates.

After years of fighting with horrible-looking feet I pretty much gave up. But then a family member suggested Dr. Canuso’s Foot Serum, I figured I would try it. Having tried other creams, lotions, pedicures, “tools”, etc., I didn’t expect much. I can honestly say that it has been one of the best things to happen to me. I can’t wait [to] buy some new open-toe shoes!

— Maria M.