Bunions are more than an unsightly deformation of your feet. They also can cause pain and make wearing your favorite pair of shoes unbearable. Overcome bunion pain and minimize their appearance by using these bunion treatment tips.

Wear a Splint

One of the best ways to deal with bunions involves wearing a splint. You can find bunion splints at most pharmacies.

The splint fits around the side of your foot and your big toe. It guides your toe back into proper alignment and eases both the pain and appearance of the bunion.

Your doctor may recommend that you wear the splint overnight while you sleep so that you do not have to walk while wearing it. After a few weeks or months of wearing the splint, you should notice a decrease in the bunion’s size and also no longer feel as much pain because of it.

Wear Shoe Inserts

You may have developed bunions after years of positioning your foot wrong in your shoes. Many people subconsciously favor one side of their feet over another when they walk. They may put most of their weight on the inside or outside of their sole.

After walking like this for years, however, you may develop a painful bunion at the base of your big toe. You can minimize it by wearing shoe inserts that help position your foot properly inside your shoes. The inserts combined with other remedies like wearing a toe splint at night can help ease the appearance and pain of the bunion. Your foot doctor can have inserts made for you that are custom to your feet and guaranteed to last a long time.

Soak Your Feet

You may be able to tolerate the sight of a bunion. However, the pain that it causes may be too much for you to bear after a long day on your feet.

When bunion pain becomes too much to handle, you can ease it by soaking your feet in a warm bath each night. The warm water soothes the nerves that cause pain around the bunion and elsewhere in your feet.

See Your Doctor

When these home remedies do not reduce the size of or pain from bunions, you should see your foot doctor for treatment. Your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory ointments or medications. Likewise, he may recommend surgery to remove the bunion entirely using a minimally invasive method that will have you back on your feet in no time.