How to stay on your own two feet.

Healthy feet are prettier feet, whether you're male or female.

But aesthetics aside, unhealthy feet can lead to internal infections, to hip, leg, or back problems, and to foot amputation in diabetics not to mention a greater desire to be off your feet, which leads to less exercise and to missing out on life's activities. So how can you keep your feet sound and shapely and prevent some of those unpleasant maladies such as ingrown toenails, corns, bunions, and more?

"Wear the appropriate shoes," says Dr. Jane Andersen, who practices at the Foot and Ankle Center in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolinia. "I see many patients on a daily basis who have problems with their feet based on wearing the wrong size shoes. If you think about it, no one has measured your feet in a long time. Shoe stores don't routinely measure you anymore. Adults may have gone 20 or 30 years without having their feet measured. In reality, your feet change over time, and you may be wearing the wrong size. Find people to measure your feet each time you buy shoes."

According to Andersen and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), proper shoe purchasing criteria include measuring your feet while standing, walking in both shoes, buying for the larger foot, and shopping later in the day, which is when your feet will have swelled.

Proper shoe selection and fit also play a role in preventing sprains and strains, which the APMA says are actually the most common foot woes. "Make sure you're choosing the appropriate shoe for the activity you're doing," Andersen says. "If you're running, you need a running shoe, not a crosstrainer. And if you're doing aerobics, you should have an aerobics shoe, not a running shoe. If you're hiking on uneven terrain, make sure you wear a shoe with ankle support. Athletic shoes are great to wear on a daily basis if you have a job that allows you to do that," says Andersen, who advises replacing them after 500 miles.

There are, however, foot ailments that proper shoe fit won't prevent--bunions and hammertoes. The APMA says you can't necessarily prevent them, because heredity of foot type can leave you prone to both ailments, which are simply bone and joint deformities. A bunion is an enlargement of the joint at the big toe base, forming when bone or tissue at the big toe joint moves out of place. The big toe then bends toward the others. If untreated, pain results. A hammertoe is a bending of the toe at the first joint of the digit, making it appear like an upside-down V or a claw when looked at from the side. Pain, corns, redness, swelling, and restricted motion can result.

"Bony deformities such as bunions and hammertoes are usually genetic," agrees Andersen. "You're going to get them anyway. But wearing the wrong shoes can make these deformities feel worse or develop sooner than they would otherwise. Wearing the right shoes will decrease friction on the area and perhaps make it more comfortable or prevent the formation of a corn, which is thickened skin that forms over a hammertoe where it rubs against your shoe."

Also, the APMA advises that you don't wear tight shoes or ones that squeeze toes together. Wear shoes with a wide and deep toe box, and avoid shoes with heels more than two inches tall. Andersen suggests wearing a rounded toe style versus a pointed toe style.

Not only can proper shoe fit sometimes prevent calluses or corns caused by foot and shoe friction, but it also can discourage an ingrown toenail, which involves one or both corners or sides of the nail curving and growing into the flesh. Andersen and the APMA say you should cut your toenails straight across, keeping them even with, not beyond or below, the tip of your toes. "The key is that you don't want to cut them too short, and you don't want to cut the corners back too far, because that can lead to ingrown toenails," says Andersen.

What else can you do to maintain healthy feet? According to Andersen and the APMA, you can:

* inspect your feet and toes periodically for redness, swelling, cracks, and sores, consulting a podiatrist if needed.

* maintain your weight. Obesity means your feet are supporting more than your normal body weight, leading to heel pain.

* avoid scratching and touching athlete's foot, usually occurring between the toes, because it can spread to the feet soles, toenails, and even the groin or underarms.

* avoid getting athlete's foot by wearing shower shoes in public areas, applying talcum powder to reduce perspiration, washing your feet daily with soap, and drying between your toes.

* wear sock material (such as acrylic) that keeps your feet dry by wicking away moisture, and change socks frequently anyway if you perspire lots.

Karen Fritscher-Porter is a writer from Bloomingdale, Georgia.