Do you want your feet to look beautiful and well-groomed? Or do you have skin or nail disorders? If you then go in search of support, you will find that not all foot care is the same. And so we provide an enlightening look in the following article: The difference between medical foot care and cosmetic foot care.
What exactly is foot care?
If you’re looking for help with foot care, you’ll often do a Google search. But if you search for foot care, the answers can be confusing. And it is not always clear at first glance what the differences are.
The professional title of chiropodist is not protected in Germany. It should be noted that the boundary for cosmetic treatment of the feet always ends where medical treatment begins.
So if you are looking to beautify your feet or nails in the summer, remove calluses in the winter or treat nail fungus or warts, you need to be careful when searching. Depending on the area of application and previous illness, there are guidelines as to who is the right person to contact. And this is also reflected in the names.
Differentiation between medical foot care (podiatry) and cosmetic foot care
Healthy feet do not need any medical expertise. Foot care can be used to beautify the feet and prevent foot problems. Care and decorative measures on healthy feet are part of cosmetic foot care, also known as a pedicure.
This includes services such as a soothing foot bath or exfoliation, as well as a color change or nail shortening. It can also include the removal of calluses, albeit with certain restrictions. In other words, everything for well-groomed feet that relaxes, cares for and visually enhances them. Services that are often also offered in beauty salons.
Medical chiropody, on the other hand, carries out preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitative treatments. Anyone wishing to practise non-medical medicine requires a license in accordance with Section 1 of the Heilpraktikergesetz. This can be obtained through appropriate training with a state examination. There is therefore a precise distinction between this and work in medical chiropody or as a podiatrist and podiatrist.
In contrast to this is cosmetic pedicure, where no training or license is required to practice. Therefore, only services for beautification may be offered. Treatments for athlete’s foot, thickened or ingrown nails, corns or pathologically thickened calluses, on the other hand, are classified as medical pedicure, also known as podiatry.
The focus here is on foot health and its preservation, as well as the alleviation of existing foot problems or complaints or pathological changes.
Medical foot care and how podiatrists work
Medical foot care therefore means treating patients in the sense of practicing medicine and is reserved for doctors, alternative practitioners and podiatrists. Only podiatrists are licensed in accordance with Section 124 of the Fifth Book of the German Social Code (SGB V). Only they can therefore settle the costs with the health insurance company.
A further distinction is made between podiatry and medical chiropody in terms of training and practice. This always applies where the medical activity begins. For example, in the treatment of people with diabetes mellitus or rheumatic diseases.
There is another special feature here, as this is usually prescribed by a doctor. This may only be carried out with the professional title of podiatrist. This type of treatment requires medical necessity and appropriate expertise, as nerves or blood vessels may be damaged in these patients, with the corresponding consequences (e.g. diabetic foot syndrome). Podiatry treatment can help to avoid such consequences.
Briefly summarized:
So, the next time the question is asked whether cosmetic pedicures or podiatry. Then the answer should be clearer. In a nutshell (quote from the Hamburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce): “Cosmetic pedicure is the practice of care and decorative measures on healthy feet. Podiatry is the preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment of healthy feet, feet at risk of damage and feet that are already damaged” (source: https://www.ihk.de/hamburg/produktmarken/beratung-service/gruendung/gruender-abc/medizinische-fusspfleger-podologen-1152554).
If you have any questions about our cosmetic foot care or podiatry (medical foot care) or how our products can help you with your skin and nails, please send us an email to: info(at)ocean-pharma.de
Image source: Elnur / stock.adobe.com
