Podiatrist Father

Podiatrist Father - "You can't go wrong with water..."

Water was big for him. Dad compensated for not being a physician by buying X-ray, diathermy and whirlpool machines, $3000. a pop, and this was in the 1940s and 50s. One whirlpool machine went under the name "Electric Fountain," another, "The Plumbing Express," hmm, that's what he called it. They were (also) known as jetted bathtubs, stainless steel heat sinks, Jacuzzis for the feet.

"Trust water, son, you can't go wrong with water."

Six multi-directional massage jets... and dual armrests so people with poor balance, poor everything, wouldn't fall over... Dad specialized in diseases of the circulatory system. He felt everything was connected. This was connected to that and that to this and this and this and this to that and that and that.

Fierce Bubbles & The Plumbing Express. "Good for the feet, good for the back. Foot problems, back problems, they go together." A little Yiddish / German and the whole language of podiatry. If podiatry was my first language, English was my second.

Wikipedia says of podiatry, "The professional care of feet was in existence in ancient Egypt as evidenced by bas-relief carvings at the entrance to Ankmahor's tomb where work on hands and feet is depicted. Many Egyptologists believe tending feet probably spanned the whole of Egyptian civilization. The placement of carvings at the entrance of a tomb typically signified the profession of the buried individual and The Tomb of the Physician dates from 2400 BC.

"Corns and calluses were described by Hippocrates who recognised the need to physically reduce hard skin, followed by removal of the cause. He invented skin scrapers for this purpose and these were the original scalpels. Celsus, a Roman scientist and philosopher was probably responsible for giving corns their name. Later Paul of Aegina (AD 615-690) defined a corn as "a white circular body like the head of a nail, forming in all parts of the body, but more especially on the soles of the feet and the toes. It may be removed in the course of some time by paring away the prominent part of it constantly with a scalpel or rubbing it down with pumice. The same thing can be done with a callus."

"...There are records of the King of France employing a personal podiatrist, as did Napoleon. In the United States, President Abraham Lincoln suffered greatly with his feet and chose a chiropodist named Isachar Zacharie, who not only cared for the president’s feet, but also was sent by President Lincoln on confidential missions to confer with leaders of the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.

"The first society of chiropodists was established in New York in 1895 with the first school opening in 1911... The number of chiropodists increased markedly after the Great War then again after World War II. Increased numbers of ex-soldiers needing to be gainfully employed gave chiropody a boost and led to the need for registration in all English speaking countries. The study of the foot (i.e. podology), brought greater knowledge to the practice of foot care or podiatry."

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List of disorders of foot and ankle
From Wikipedia
Contents
1 Disorders of the skin
2 Disorders of the joints
3 Disorders of the bones
4 Disorders of the nerves
5 Combined disorders
6 Genetic disorders
7 Specific manifestations of systemic disease

Disorders of the skin

Athlete's foot
Callus and Corns of the Skin
Onychocryptosis (Ingrown Toenail)
Keratosis palmaris et plantaris

Disorders of the joints

Hallux valgus (bunion)
Hallux varus
Diabetic Arthropathy (Charcot Foot)

Disorders of the bones

Fracture
Jones Fracture
Dupuytren fracture or Pott's fracture
Osteomyelitis

Disorders of the nerves

Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Neuroma
Nerve Entrapment
Metatarsalgia

Combined disorders

Pes cavus (Cavus foot)
Club foot

Genetic disorders

Polydactyly

Specific manifestations of systemic disease

Diabetic foot
Rheumatoid foot
Neuropathy