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You may want to think twice before you "grin and bare" your feet this summer.
There are plenty of reasons to go barefoot or break out the flip-flops and the sandals in the summer.
"It just keeps your body aired out," one woman said.
"Yeah, it feels good," a man told us.
But there are just as many reasons not to. "[I see] a lot of fractures of toes, lot of toenail injuries -- you grimaced, though, because it is quite painful," said podiatrist Dr. Douglas Stoker.
Stoker says the issue is the protection of your toes. Flip-flops and bare feet don't have any, which means he treats a lot more toe injuries in the summer.
While it can be dangerous, the doctor says he doesn't totally object to people going barefoot, they just need to be more careful. "You just have to be smart when you do it, and when you don't, because of the injuries and the skin problems you can get," he said.
There are also some people who should never go barefoot, including diabetics and people with poor balance or decreased sensitivity in their feet.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
