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CHUKKA BOOTS OR SHOES

Definition:  A Chukka boot refers to a shoe with a wide and deep opening.  It is a “shoe” when it comes below the anklebone and a “boot” if it goes above the anklebone.  Chukka boots and shoes come in a therapeutic version as well as being a classic shoe style.   

Although anyone may wear a chukka boot, those with severe edema are often unable to wear any other shoe.  When it is a therapeutic shoe (the left image), it is made of black plastazote, a cushion that is soft and inhibits moisture and bacterial growth.

Left to their own devices, those with severe edema will either wear socks only or will wear a shoe that, in order to be wide enough to accommodate their ankles and instep, is several lengths longer that the length of their foot.  This puts them at high risk of stumbling.

Benefits:  Those with severe edema can wear a this kind of a shoe, one that fits them in length while accommodating their wide ankles, a much safer alternative to not having such a shoe available or wearing only socks.