The Perils Of Going Barefoot

People have walked barefoot in the grass for thousands of years, and barefoot in New York City's parks at least since the days of Olmsted and Vaux. Neil Simon wrote a play about it, and Robert Redford and Jane Fonda starred in the movie.

As sun blankets the city, many people hardly think twice before shedding their inhibitions -- and their shoes. Neither New York's health department nor the parks department has any rules against going barefoot on the city's streets or in its parks, officials said.

But while many doctors say there is nothing wrong with walking barefoot in New York, some see small but definite risks. They range from the obvious, like contracting tetanus from stepping on a rusty nail, to the invisible, like developing athlete's foot from walking in wet grass.

"When something doesn't happen to you, you don't consider yourself lucky," said Dr. Judith Hellman, a Manhattan dermatologist and assistant professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "But when you go barefoot, you are exposing yourself beyond what you really need to."

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