Your moist and warm feet, socks, and shoes can be a perfect environment for bacteria to multiply, causing foot odor known medically as bromhidrosis. Thousands of sweat glands on the soles of the feet produce perspiration composed of water, sodium chloride, fat, minerals, and various acids that are the end products of your body’s metabolism. In the presence of certain bacteria (namely those found in dark, damp shoes), these sweaty secretions break down, generating foot odor.
Foot odor is preventable by simple home remedies:
1. Wash away the bacteria. Use a deodorant soap which can wash away the bacteria causing the breakdown of sweaty secretions which generates odor. Daily washing your feet, enough to remove the offending bacteria is recommended.
2. Soak your feet with salt solution. This is advisable to extra-sweaty feet. Add half a cup of ordinary table salt to a quart of water and soak your feet in the solution for 15 minutes. After soaking, don’t rinse your feet; just dry them thoroughly. Salt has a drying effect on the skin.
3. Use deodorants and antiperspirants. Deodorants and antiperspirants can keep you away from smelly feet similar to what they do to your underarm. Deodorants contain antibacterial agents that can kill bacteria, but they won’t stop the sweat, but they will eliminate the odor that ensues when sweat meets bacteria. Antiperspirants, on the other hand, stop the sweat and the smell at the same time.
4. Apply deodorizing foot powder that contains aluminum chloride hexahydrate.
5. Wear socks that let your feet breathe and keep your feet driest. If possible, change your socks at least once during the day, and don’t wear the same pair two days in a row without laundering them.
6. Wear open shoes which allow air onto the feet and helps evaporate sweat and slows the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Sandals allow air onto the feet, which helps evaporate sweat and slows the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Leather or canvas shoes, which breathe a bit, are good options, too. Avoid shoes that are lined with solid rubber or synthetic materials.
Alternate shoes on a daily basis so that you don’t wear the same pair two days in a row. Loosen the laces and pull up the tongue on the pair you’re not wearing, and let them dry out in the sunshine. You can also remove the insoles of shoes and sneakers to allow them to dry out over night.
Sprinkle your shoes. Sprinkle the inside of your shoes with cornstarch to help absorb moisture and keep your feet drier.
7. Avoid strong-flavored foods such as garlic, onions, scallions, and peppers, because the substances that give them their powerful flavor and aroma can pass through the bloodstream and eventually concentrate in your sweat. While this effect is not restricted to foot perspiration, it certainly won’t help a case of smelly feet.
8. Avoid stress and anxiety as these increase production of sweat. Learn some stress-reduction techniques to help you alleviate perspiration from stressful circumstances.
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