Category Archives: Cures

The Best Ways To Stop Smelly Feet

 

In order to combat smelly feet and shoes we have to fight the source.

Both the growth of bacteria and the sweating need to be reduced.

There are several ways to do this. Here’s an overview of the best ways to deal with smelly feet.

 

Maintaining good foot and shoe hygiene is the best way to prevent smelly feet.

The best way for fresh, non-stinky feet is fivefold:

  1. Proper shoe hygiene
  2. Proper foot hygiene: Fight the bacteria on your feet
  3. Reduce sweating
  4. Clear your shoes of these bacteria
  5. Use odor and sweat absorbing sole inserts and related products

 

1. Shoe hygiene

Shoes are bad. Not just 10 inch heeled pumps or or non-breathing work boots, all shoes are hurting our feet.

Feet smell and hands don’t because sweat gets trapped in our shoes. Feet also have more sweat glands than hands but the main reason is that by wearing shoes we create an ideal living environment for bacteria that live on our skin.

These bacteria eat our dead skin cells and our sweat. While doing so they produce a foul odor, the typical smelly feet scent.

Some people sweat so profusely that they slip in their shoes. But even if you don’t, even if you don’t really notice you’re sweating in your shoes this causes a problem.

Mankind has been wearing shoes for roughly a thousand years. They change how you walk, cause caluses and skin conditions. As well as the dreaded foot odor. The bane of ‘homo calceus’, shoe wearing man.

Simply put, we’re made for walking barefoot and wearing footwear obviously has its merits but it causes trouble too.

In order to counteract these negative side effects of wearing shoes we need to take some precautions regarding our footwear.

Air out your feet as much as possible

This means take off your shoes a lot. I take them off when at work, when at home, during shopping when at a restaurant I put my feet on top of my shoes, and so on. Every time you let your feet ‘breathe’ you are diminishing the effects bacteria are causing while wearing shoes.

Go barefoot when you can

Not talking about earthing kumbayah and its purported electrical grounding benefits here, just saying that walking without shoes is good for your feet, your posture and helps reduce foot odor.

Let your shoes dry in between wearing

This commonly requires rotating a pair of shoes each other day. Or you can use shoe dryers to hasten the process. The dryer your footwear, the less chance for bacteria to survive.

Wear leather or cotton shoes

Avoid footwear made of synthetic materials at all costs. These don’t allow for any breathability and are a surefire way of making your feet sweat.

Clear your shoes of the bacteria

Common ways to remove odor causing bacteria are with sunlight, heat, cold, ozone, UV, pure alcohol, tea tree oil, chemical. Some of these remedies are more effective than others. Some take more time than others.

The best way to rid your shoes of the dreaded bacteria is by using On Your Toes Foot Bactericide Powder.

  • Just check out the reviews to see how positive others are
  • Follow instructions on the package

Another convenient way to banish bacteria from your shoes is by using an UV shoe sanitizer. Here’s more on how to de-stink smelly shoes.

 

2. Foot hygiene

The battle against those cheesy bacteria Brevibacteria are naturally part of our skin flora. Excess sweat and dead skin cells will increase their numbers and result in the typical cheese-like smell.

No wonder, since the same bacteria also give cheeses such as Munster their typical aroma.

These bacteria live on our skin but after a while they will reside in your shoes too. That’s why the best remedy is to treat both your feet and shoes.

Get rid of the smell causing bacteria living on your feet

Wash your feet well

Wash your feet with a strong antibacterial soap. Yes, it’s true that in fact all soaps are antibacterial but in order to have an effect normal soaps have to be in contact with skin for about two minutes.

Let’s face it, in our busy lives, most of us don’t have or take the time for this. That’s why a soap that fights the bacteria right away is recommended.

Another reason, often the bacteria not only live on our skin but inside the deeper skin layers as well.

The best soap for this purpose: Hibiscrub.

  • Wash your feet daily with this soap
  • Make sure to dry your feet really well afterwards (the bacteria thrive on moist environments)

More info on Hibiscrub for smelly feet.

Take regular foot baths

A quick rinse under the shower is far less efficient than taking a 10 minute long foot bath. Your feet are emersed in water instead of merely splashed upon. Add a good foot soak and you are increasing the efficiency of your bacteria-killing effort. From black tea to chlorine, from epsom salt to tea tree oil, soaks can help fight smelly feet.

Dry your feet well

For the same reason you need to keep your feet and shoes dry, you also need to dry your feet thoroughly after washing. This means drying well in between toes too.

 

3. Reduce how much your feet are sweating

Our feet are the body part with the most sweat glands. About 250,000 on both your feet. There’s an effective way to reduce the amount of sweating though (besides airing out and wearing the right shoes).

Doctors prescribe it to people with hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) but it is available over the counter too.

Various anti-perspirants exist but the best one to combat sweaty feet is SweatBlock Antiperspirant.

It’s main active ingredient is aluminum chloride. It works by blocking the sweat-producing cells in your feet. This effect is temporary and therefore it should be applied about twice a week.

Many other brands are available but most are rollers which makes them not suitable for application on feet. What’s more, SweatBlock is the best reviewed antiperspirant on Amazon.

Use odor and sweat absorbing insoles

In general inserts that fight foot odor come in two types.

  • Aromatic deodorants that neutralize the odor by their own smell
  • and absorbers that absorb the foul scent itself.

The best insoles are Dr. Scholls and Cedar soles.

Here’s more about insoles for smelly feet.

4 Clear your shoes of bacteria

Many popular remedies roam the internet. Freezing your shoes overnight, sprinkling with rubbing alcohol or baking soda,  and other methods vary in efficacy. They generally work for shoes that haven’t yet reached a mega-stink status.

 

Don’t forget,

Shoes

  • Don’t wear the same pair every day
  • Wear leather, canvas, or suede shoes
  • Keep them clear of bacteria
  • Store them light and dry

Socks

  • Wear cotton (minimal 75%) or wool socks
  • Change them as often as possible (at least every day)
  • Don’t go barefoot in your shoes
  • Walk on socks at home or the office

 

For a more comprehensive overview check out this list of Top Foot Odor Control Products.

 

 

Hibiscrub For Smelly Feet, Why and How You Should Use It

Hibiscrub antiseptic soap
Hibiscrub is a powerful killer of bacteria that cause foot odor

A friend recently asked me if hibiscrub is good for smelly feet. The short answer;  yes it is.

All antibacterial soaps, scrubs, and cleansers are helpful when it comes to curing stinky feet.

How does Hibiscrub help me cure my smelly feet?

Sweat alone isn’t the cause of smelly feet. Sweat is just made up of water and salt.

It’s the bacteria feeding on sweat and dead skin cells that produce the stink. It’s their excrements that produce the unwanted odor.

When you wash your feet with such soaps you will literally kill the bacteria and thus minimize the source of the stink.

What about HibiClens and other antibacterial soaps?

Other antibacterial (or antiseptic soaps) are Betadine scrub, and Defense soap.

Hibiclens is practically the same stuff as HibiScrub although cheaper. HibiScrub costs about $30 for 16 oz while roughly the same amount of Hibicleans will set you back $ 15.

According to some sources Hibiclens is a weaker dilution of HibiScrub. However if you take a look at the labels, both contain the same amount of the active ingredient,  4% w/v chlorhexidine gluconate.

So make sure to check the percentage of chlorhexidine gluconate (the antimicrobial agent it’s all about) on the package, and compare prices before you buy.

Additional, inactive ingredients include; fragrance, isopropyl alcohol 4%, purified water, and Red 40.

Most drug stores  carry it HibiScrub. It’s basically a surgical scrub, you know, what hospitals use. Surgeons and other medical personnel wash their hands with it to reduce the spread of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Aren’t all soaps antibacterial?

Yes, in fact they are. But it’s for a reason surgeons use surgical scrub during their work.

Most soaps, also those not advertised as antibacterial contain two antibacterial substances. Those are triclosan and triclocarbon.

The thing is, they need to be in contact with the surface (your feet) for about two minutes in order to kill the bacteria. Since most of us don’t take the time to wash our feet that thoroughly we can benefit from stronger soaps such as HibiScrub.

What’s special about HibiScrub?

HibiScrub is a powerful antiseptic, antimicrobial skin cleanser that kills smell causing bacteria but also can protect the skin for up to 24 hours after the initial application.

On a sunny day, our feet can produce up to a pint of sweat. Often we just don’t have the possibility to take of our shoes, let alone change shoes and socks.

That’s why a potent bacteria killer such as HibiScrub is a necessary tool in fighting foot odor.

How to use HibiScrub on your smelly feet

Wash your feet daily with it. Make sure to thorougly dry your feet afterwards. Remember, the bacteria thrive on dark, moist environments. The reason our hands don’t smell is because the sweat can leave. (the same bacteria live on your hands too)

Some additional advice…

Don’t forget to change shoes and socks regularly, air out your shoes, wear cotton or wool socks, leather, breathing shoes, make use of insoles, powder or UV sanitize your shoes, and use a product that minimizes sweat producing glands and pores. Walking barefoot or on socks at home is helpful too.

 

 

Got Smelly Feet Even After Washing or Showering? Here’s a Cure

Do your feet still smell after showering or washing?

Mine did too. I know how frustrating this is because you can scrub them with soap all you want but they just don’t seem to get really clean and fresh.

If your feet still smell even after washing it’s probably because the bacteria causing the smell are residing on and in the top skin layers of your feet. Chances are they have taken over your shoes too.

Here’s what you can do about it.

First a bit about the why and how. I always find that when I understand why I have to do something, I’m more inclined to do it and to keep doing it. It just motivates me.

If your feet still stink after washing the approach to cure is twofold:

  • reduce sweating
  • kill off the bacteria and limit them in their existence by treating your feet as well as your shoes.

The cause of and cure for smelly feet even after washing or showering

Our feet have lots and lots of sweat glands. More than on most other body parts. This has an evolutionary purpose. Because when we started walking upright we had to keep our feet cool and supple.

Another function sweat glands in the hands and feet of mammals is to rub the sweat or scent onto objects in order to mark their territory.

Nowadays, we wear shoes and the need to claim territory has taken other forms (think, grafitti or driving a big car). The sweat glands however, about 3000 per square inch, are still present.

This leads to a sweaty and smelly feet in a lot of people. (Some people, especially teenagers and pregnant women suffer more from sweaty feet because of hormonal changes.)

Since the perspiration is kept inside the shoes and socks (instead of rubbed off against tree bark) bacteria that feed of of the sweat start to thrive. It’s the interaction between those bacteria and the sweat that causes the rotten odor.

Bacteria living on our skin decompose sweat coming from the pores. This process causes the typical smell.

Tip: keep your feet, shoes, and socks dry

When your feet are damp, either because you are sweating or because you haven’t given your shoes the chance to dry up after wearing the bacteria grow.

This is why it’s so important to really dry your feet well after showering or taking a bath.

Even after taking off your shoes the bacteria breed on because they favor a warm, moist and dark environment.

Tip: give your shoes time to air out

That’s why it’s recommended to not wear the same shoes every day. Give them time to air out and limit the bacteria in their growth.

The reason why our feet often stink but our hands are not is because our hands are not enclosed in shoes or socks.

Yet our hands also sweat and have bacteria living on them just like our feet. That’s why it’s so important to let the sweat that your feet produce escape into the air limit odor-causing bacteria feeding on it.

Tip: fight the bacteria that live in your shoes

  • Store your shoes in a light place, preferably in the sun or use a UV shoe sanitizer to kill them off.
  • Inserting baking soda and placing the shoes (in a plastic bag) in the freezer may also help.
  • Another method is treating your shoes with pure alcohol or use an antibacterial shoe spray. Some people use a shoe deodorizer such as 2Toms Stink Free Spray. Do note that in case of serious foot perspiration such a spray alone probably won’t solve your problem.

In case of a serious foot odor problem, I know this from experience, it takes more to combat the foul scent and perspiration.

If your feet still smell after showering there are a few things you do.

How to wash your feet?

Wash them with antibacterial soap. An often recommended bacterial soap to use is Hibiclens Antimicrobial Skin Liquid Soap with antiseptic activity.

I use Betadine solution myself, you know the stuff surgeons use to desinfect their hands.

What’s  probably even better is On Your Toes Foot Bactericide Powder. It has helped so many people overcome their foot odor problem. Just take a look at the reviews, I bet this stuff will help you out too.

You can also bath your feet in water with a few drops of tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has a strong antiseptic action. Others say they benefit from taking foot baths with Epsom salt. The main thing here is to keep at it.

If you have a serious foot odor problem you will have to make washing with an antibacterial substance and reducing sweat production a habit. Otherwise the problem will persevere.

Remove dead skin cells

The smell causing bacteria such as the Staphylococcus epidermis and corynebacterium feed on dead skin cells. The more dead skin cells on your feet and between your toes, the worse the smell will be.

By taking away their food you can limit their existence. Removing these dead skin cells can be done by using a purnice or file but this is tedious.

Therefore, peels are often used for this purpose. Other benefits of removing excess dead skin cells are better blood circulation and having cold feet less quickly.

The secret to countering sweat production

Use aluminum hydroxychloride to shrink the pores and prevent excessive sweating. (it seems you can also bath your feet in black tea but this is more time consuming, that’s why I prefer to use aluminum hydroxochloride).

This is a substance you can apply on your feet before going to bed and wash it off the next morning. Even after one application you will already notice your feet feel dryer. Because the pores and sweat glands are minimized you will sweat less.

Other things you can do after washing your feet

Other things that help are wearing cotton or wool socks. (70% cotton or higher). Change shoes and socks at least every day but preferably more often. If you can just change socks and shoes daily.

Use scent removing insoles such as Cedar soles. Here’s more about insoles that help reduce smelly feet.

Here’s more about smelly feet cures.

Do your feet still smell after showering or washing?

Share your experiences or ask questions below.