The claim: Topricin Foot Therapy Cream specifically targets ankle and foot pain and is safe for diabetics. The product's 14 natural biomedicines naturally support and assist the body by helping the subcutaneous skin layers of the feet drain toxins and excessive fluids from the tissues, which increases blood flow and helps heal the damage that is causing the pain. It relieves foot-pain symptoms associated with plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, sprained and swollen ankles, forefoot pain, blisters, aching feet, flat feet, hammertoes, corns and calluses and other painful foot conditions and injuries. As an added plus, it treats the foot's dry, cracked skin.
Cost: $16.95 for a 2-ounce tube; $24.95 for a 4-ounce jar; $39.95 for an 8-ounce bottle
Where: Pharmacies and natural-food stores, including Whole Foods and Vitamin Shoppe
Topricin Foot Therapy Cream is not worth buying. About the only thing it accomplished was it turned the bright-fuchsia polish on my toenails to a dull pink. I slathered on the cream at night and when I could in the morning, but I didn't experience any difference in the softness of my feet or any pain relief. You men have no idea the lengths we women will go to style our feet in high heels. We're fashion slaves when it comes to shoes, but Topricin just doesn't ease the toll on our tootsies. What a disappointment.
I had high hopes for this cream, and applied it liberally to strained muscles in my hand and a sore elbow, too — just in case it would work. Nada. The same result was reported by my household athlete whose return to training left some sore leg muscles. Topricin didn't make a difference.
Nothing's ever easy, as my mother would say. I sure was hoping that the cure for my aching, swollen ankles came in a blue tube labeled Topricin Foot Therapy Cream. Alas, after a week of cream applications, I neither see nor feel any difference. To be fair, I used the cream only once a day, although the directions indicate you should use it multiple times daily. My thought on that is: If I make the time to massage my ankles several times a day, it seems to me that they might not swell as much — no matter what kind of lotion I use.
The cream supposedly will relieve pain associated with a variety of problems, but in my case, the usual pain didn't diminish. Also, the lotion did not treat my dry skin as promised. I can understand that nasty, dry heels might take a while to improve, but I slathered the cream all the way up to just below the knees. And all week, my capris have been exposing dry-looking skin. I'll be glad to go back to using regular skin lotion every evening. As for my ankle maintenance — sigh — no simple remedy, just diligence, diet and exercise.
I have a magazine here that says: “She lost 170 lbs and 12 dress sizes!” Because I haven't done that, my dogs are screaming. I have asked my piggy toes over the years to carry around me and three babies; me, post-baby; and me, at one of those certain ages that is cruelly unfriendly to svelteness. So, my feet hurt.
Pedicures, foot rubs, the occasional outbreak of Weight Watchers — they help a little. So does this Topricrin cream. Surprisingly, a dab of this is quite soothing at the end of a long day of weight-bearing. It cools and tones down the ouch. It's not a cure-all — none of the above are — but I'll take what I can get.
This reminds me: Time to schedule a pedi.
