Do You Suffer From Smelly Feet?
- By:louise forrest
Foot odor can be a really horrible condition. It can make you self conscious and it can also be hard to treat. So what causes foot odor and how exactly can you treat it before it becomes too much of a problem?
The Causes of Foot Odor
Feet naturally smell when they have been shoved into a trainer or shoe all day. Bacteria build and combined with your perspiration, which is what causes the actual odor.
Generally the feet have around 3,000 sweat glands per square inch which is quite a lot! This means that they are always producing perspiration and that is hard to reduce. The reason the perspiration smells so much on the feet, is because it is not exposed to the air. Our hands have just as many sweat glands in, but the perspiration does not smell on them because they are open in the air and the sweat evaporates.
Temperatures inside our shoes can easily reach up to 102 Fahrenheit. The perspiration and the warmth combined make it absolutely ideal for bacteria to breed. The bacteria are naturally present on our skin and it usually lives on our bodies with no noticeable problems. However, in this situation they do cause foot odor and so they are more noticeable than they usually are.
Generally men are the worst affected as they tend to produce a lot more perspiration than women do. The cause could be genetic, due to medication, or it could be simply down to stress. However, a lot of the time it is simply down to hygiene.
How to Treat Foot Odor
If you take into account that the odor generally occurs due to our shoes and trainers, it is often a good idea to clean them frequently. You can easily wash trainers in a washing machine and try not to wear the same shoes two days in a row. This is because they need to have at least 24 hours to air out before you wear them again, in order for the sweat to evaporate and dry out.
Changing your socks twice a day may also help as the sweat tends to soak into the socks, and if you sweat excessively, your socks will not be able to hold all the sweat in. Before changing socks, be sure to bathe your feet in luke warm water. This will help to clean the feet and make them nice and fresh. If you simply put clean socks onto dirty feet, you will only cause the socks to become dirty quicker than they should, and they will not really help the problem.
Sometimes the odor could be caused by an infection, so always check your feet, especially in between the toes, to check for any signs of redness or flakiness. If you do notice anything, be sure to get treatment for it right away as this could stop further odor from occurring.
There are some natural remedies you can try including soaking the feet in black tea for around thirty minutes a day per week. The acid within the tea kills the bacteria and it closes the pores which in turn keeps the feet dryer for longer periods of time.
To create this remedy you simply need two tea bags and a pint of water. Boil the water and add two quarts of cold water to it. Place the tea bags in the water and then soak the feet. You should find that this method works quite well.
Overall, hygiene is the best treatment you can use on foot odor. However, there are products out on the market which eliminate the odor and help the feet to smell nice again. Usually though, these products only mask the problem instead of treating it.
If you are in any doubt about what to try or how to eliminate the odor completely, you can always contact your doctor and get their opinion. They will be able to tell you the cause of your particular problem and how you can effectively treat it. Do not suffer in silence, there is help available!
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