Busy lifestyles and soaring temperatures cause your body to perfuse all over, including your feet.
The sweat that accumulates on your feet while wearing shoes and socks may be turning your feet into a stink bomb.
According to a Japanese study, it was found that bacteria that live on our skin feed off of sweat, and produce an acid by-product that reeks.
How can you prevent this natural process from occurring? As it turns out, the answer may be more simple than you think.
How to Prevent Odor and Sweating?
While there is no way to prevent sweating, by providing a less conducive environment for fungi to live in, you can prevent their colonization of your feet. Here some tips for preventing sweaty and odor-filled shoes and feet:
- Soak in Saltwater
By soaking feet in saltwater, you can remove fungi-attracting moisture from your feet and decrease the amount of bacteria living on your skin. Mixing in a small amount of vinegar provides an added drying effect to further eliminate bacterial presence.
- Drink Tea
Tea contains special acids that help to close pores throughout the surfaces of the skin. Tea is also a natural antibiotic, helping to lower levels of smell-causing bacteria.
- Change Your Socks
It is actually important to know the material of socks you are using, as some materials cause increased sweating and chance of fungal and bacterial presence. Experts say that cotton is the best and most breathable material for your feet.
Treatment Options
Professional treatment of smelly feet is similar to home care.
By following the above steps and including a good foot powder in your footwear, you can greatly reduce the risk of symptoms.
If it persists, seeing a specialist can help to wholly eliminate the condition, as our foot specialists can identify your unique cause of the odor.
There are many possible causes, and by identifying possible outside health ailments, such as diabetes, we can get a better picture of how to cure your specific case.
Antibacterial and moisture reducing methods are the best way of addressing odor caused by bacteria and fungal infections.
Antibacterial medications and topicals are common methods, as well as a guided regiment of foot scrubs and maintenance.
If you are tired of being embarrassed of the odor your shoes and feet are consistently given off, seeing one of our foot care specialists can start you down the path of eliminating the root cause of the smell or itch.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment with our foot specialist!