Podiatrists and chiropodists do the same job. You might be more used to the word chiropodist but these days people who work in this profession choose the word podiatrist. It's a better word to use.

Podiatrists look for and treat problems with feet and ankles. They help people to keep their feet and ankles healthy. They work with a range of people, though many of their patients are older people. A podiatrist may trim nails, remove hard skin and corns and treat things like athlete's foot. They are always on the look out for more serious things going wrong in people's feet. They also see people who have a problem that, if not treated, could mean they would have to have their foot amputated - this means having an operation to have it removed.

Podiatrists work in either hospitals, heath centres or GPs' surgeries. They may also visit people at home. They can see children who have pains in their legs or feet as they grow, or babies who aren't walking properly. They see people with diabetes who have problems with the feeling in their feet: the danger is these people can hurt their feet and not know they have.

Podiatrists can also work with people who've had sports injuries - over half of all sports injuries are leg, ankle or foot injuries.

They also give advice to people about wearing good shoes and looking after their feet.