How to Get Rid of Smelly Feet

We asked a few people How to get rid of very smelly feet? and this is their answer.

1. Barbara Vines, former Surgical Staff

Lots of good advice in the other responses. I haven’t read them all, so I don’t know if anyone else has recommended avoiding synthetic leather. It is made from plastic, and doesn’t allow your feet to breathe. Same for socks. Don’t wear polyester or nylon socks. Cotton, wool, and silk are much healthier for feet. If they are a blend of different fibers, make sure there is more cotton than polyester.

So, to summarize:

1. Diet - Meat and sulfur-containing foods contribute to all body odor including foot odor
2. Soak - in warm water, with or without addition of vinegar or Epsom salts
3. Hygiene - wash carefully, especially between your toes.
4. Health - If you have a fungus infection, get it treated by a doctor
5. Air - Wear shoes and socks that allow air to enter and perspiration to evaporate, and go barefoot or stocking-footed at home.

2. Liam Quin, football Manager

There are three main strategies.

Go barefoot whenever you can. The air will kill fungus and let sweat evaporate without going rancid.
If you have to wear shoes, have more than one pair and try not to wear the same shoes two days in a row.

If you do these things and your feet still smell bad, or if you have yellow/discoloured toenails or cracks in the skin between your toes, you may have athlete’s foot, or you might have a condition that makes your feet smell strongly, or your nose might be more sensitive than most other people’s. See a foot doctor.

This assumes you keep clean, wear clean socks every day, never put shoes or socks on damp feet, and don’t walk in poo :)

I eat a lot of garlic and my feet don’t smell, but I also rarely wear shoes or socks. Some shoes, especially tight-fitting ones, do make my feet smell, though. It’s the shoes, not the feet.

There’s an old saying, as stinky as a coachman’s hands - this came about because coachmen wore leather gloves all day, and our hands smell like our feet if we do that.

3. Steve Smith, Engineer

Foot odour is caused by bacteria on your feet mixing with sweat. Shower or bath daily paying particular attention to washing your feet thoroughly with warm water and soap.

If you have excessive hard skin on the soles of your feet soak them in warm water and mild soap once dry remove hard skin with a hard skin rasp or a hard pummice stone, and apply daily straight after some soothing cream to keep the feet soft.

Dry your feet thoroughly especially between your toes, if you have a skin infection ( Athletes foot) between your toes use a mediated anti fungal treatment or try a liberal application of Tee Tree oil a natural anti-fungal.

Wear fresh socks daily preferred are cotton or wool socks not nylon which doesn't allow foot sweat to pass through.

Don't wear the same shoes daily change every other day use a medicated inner lining to your shoes that has an activated carbon composition that prevents food odor or dust the inside of your shoes with corn starch.

Wear open toe sandels which allows your foot sweat to dissipate, if this is not possible because of your job wear open toe sandles at home or go barefoot maybe using loose slippers or open toe casual shoes.

4. Unci Narynin, Catering Manager

Go barefoot.

We all have plenty of bacteria on our skin. Wearing socks and shoes causes the feet to sweat more and provides an ideal environment for those bacteria that convert the sweat to substances smelling bad. Out in the open, feet sweat less and the moisture just evaporates.

Liberating the feet doesn’t mean “exposing your smelly feet”, it means giving them a chance not to become smelly in the first place. That is provided you wash them well and then just leave them bare …

5. Teri Draper, Medical Researcher

Most foot orders are caused by either bacteria or fungus, living in your shoes, or on your skin.

One strategy is to wash the feet with a mild acid, which will create an environment that kills the bacteria or fungus.

The most readily available of these, without a prescription, is salicylic acid. This soap usually comes in a liquid, and is most commonly is used for treatment of acne.

But it can also be used for foot order.

Wash the feet twice a day, every day, for five days, and then once a day thereafter.

But be careful of over drying. Apply a lotion especially meant for foot care after drying off feet well.

Unfortunately, once shoes begin to smell bad, they are infected, and must be discarded.

Otherwise, a cycle of reinfection can occur, from the shoe to the foot and back again.

NOTE: Avoid using shoe powders and foot powders as these have now come under scrutiny because of the negative studies involving ovarian cancers.

There are other over the counter foot remedies available, although some of these may or may not work for you.

In the past, people did not wear plastic shoes, and all shoes were made out of leather, or people simply went barefoot. Avoid wearing shoes made out of plastic if you can.

Plastic is constructed from fossil fuels and is not a natural material. It cannot “breath” like a natural material can, and may trap sweat near the skin.

If you do wear socks, be sure to change your socks every day, and wash your socks in hot water, (rinse in cold). Hot water washing is necessary to kill germs, but do not use chlorine bleach, which can damage the natural fibers of socks.

Whenever possible, do go barefoot, to let the skin on your feet be free of shoes or socks, and naturally eliminate sweat or perspiration. This sweat is what bacteria and fungi feed on.

If you follow the guidelines stated here, and still have a problem, seek medical guidance.