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The mom says:

I doubt it. Most of the time a heel fissure is more likely related to your footwear and foot care. If you tend to go barefoot or wear open back shoes, and you don’t regularly use a pumice stone on the callous portion of the foot, you just developed dry skin and it got away from you in this case. That’s usually what happens. You may also have dry skin in the region. There are underlying medical conditions that can make you more prone to having the problem, but a heel fissure would not be the first, nor only symptom you had. The fissure would have been more likely to develop long after you already knew you had say, diabetes. Until you have had a real problem with it, I’d suggest calming down and just considering it one of those “get your attention” items, that merely indicates you need to pay a little more attention to your feet and give them some loving care. Start with a good moisturizer, and a pumice stone- or better yet, get a professional pedicure. Those just plain feel good anyway, and it’s a good reason for a little self pampering.

syl c. says:

Medical conditions which can lead to dry skin and thus heel fissures include venous stasis dermatitis, diabetes, hypothyroidism, Down syndrome, kidney disease, malnutrition and lymphoma. Heavier people and those that wear backless shoes. Regular shoes that have a back to them keep the heel ‘cupped’, in other words the skin and fat of the heel area is pushed together. When you wear a backless shoe all the body fat and skin is displaced laterally and it tends to become callused and since callused skin is not healthy skin, it will begin to crack and the heel fissure will form. Always use good footwear and use foot creams on your feet in order to prevent dryness and cracking. Also foot massaging and soaking them in Epsom salts also helps.

Hope this helps.