My Feet Are Killing Me Dr. Brad Schaeffer is determined to help Nate, a patient whose plantar keratosis has him shaving down growths with box cutters and a cheese grater, even if the two are unable to meet in person for the time being. In an exclusive PopCulture.com preview of Thursday’s all-new My Feet Are Killing Me: First Steps on TLC, Schaeffer video conferences with a patient whose feet have gotten totally out of control.
Asking Nate to hold up his feet for the camera, Schaeffer gets an up-close look at the hard growths growing all over the sole of the feet, which Nate taps with his fist to show just how hard “like a rock” the calluses are. “So when you squeeze them and stuff, what is the consistency of that?” Schaeffer asks, to which Nate responds, “So the initial layer is very rough and hard. Underneath that, is a little bit more moist, a little bit more soft. I would say, as gross as this sounds, it has the consistency of like Parmesan cheese.”
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That layer of the grown tends to trap moisture in it, which Nate says has caused the biggest issue for him personally. “The rough part about that is that it will leave a smell in the shoes that won’t go away,” he explains, agreeing as Schaeffer assumes there is a “legit funk” going on in his shoes.
Trying to keep at bay these growths, which also plagued his father and grandfather, Nate has gone to some pretty extreme measures, bringing in some heavy-duty equipment to treat his feet. “First are these — box cutters that you can just buy at the store. They’re really useful for getting big, like big chunks off,” he explains of his foot routine, then pulling out a grater from his cabinet. “This is like a cheese grater, kind of. It’s like more for the finishing touches. Like, in grating it down real good. And you just, you know, rub it on your foot and plates come off.”
The first prescribed treatment tip from Schaeffer is to “stop shaving your feet,” but as for what he can do for the rest of Nate’s feet problem? Curious viewers will simply have to tune in. My Feet Are Killing Me: First Steps airs Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on TLC. For more on the latest shows on TLC from PopCulture, click here.
