How to Prevent Smelly Feet During the Rains?
Tips to combat stinky feet and shoes during the monsoon, addressing the causes of odor and offering hygiene measures and remedies.
The monsoon is in full swing right now, which means your feet have higher chances of getting wet often, with your socks and shoes ultimately retaining the moisture. The unbearable odour that comes from the mixture of foot perspiration mixed with water can easily put anyone. Add to it the embarrassment if a situation calls for taking off shoes in public. But rest assured; it happens to the best of us and there are ways to combat stinking feet and shoes. Let's start with getting to the bottom of the problem.
Why do feet or shoes smell?
Our feet have more sweat glands as compared to the rest of our body parts. These glands release sweat to keep the skin moist and maintain body temperature and usually doesn’t have any order. However, over the course of the day, bacteria accumulate on your feet, which multiplay during the monsoon since bacteria grow in moist and warm environment. These bacteria break down the sweat and create a build-up, which results into a terrible odour and this is why your feet smell. The sweat has no place to escape and it keeps spreading to your whole feet when you keep your shoes on throughout the day, leading to your shoes stink as well. This is a very common phenomenon, but for some who face the problem of stinking feet every so often, may have a medical condition called bromodosis. Smelly feet are also common among pregnant women, diabetic people, teenagers and to those who are on their feet all day or under a lot of stress.
How to get rid of smelly feet?
1. During the monsoon, it's especially important to wash your feet more closely than you do on a regular basis. So, during your morning or evening shower, wash your feet with soap and make sure to get the spots in between your toes as well. Once you’re out, it’s very important to dry out all the nooks and corners. Remember, any wetness can lead to more bacteria growing out. Once dry then wear shoes.
2. Another easy measure to combat stinky feet is to maintain the length of your toenails. Keep them clipped, as they could be good hiding spots for bacteria to accumulate.
3. Invest in a foot file, scrub or pumice stones. Now during your bath, make sure to apply some soap to the parts of your feet where the skin feels generally hard and try to scrub as much as you can. These pockets are usually the stinkier parts of your feet.
4. If the smell still persists, an easy home remedy for stinking feet is to add some vinegar to a tub of hot water and soak your feet in it for about 15 minutes. But make sure that you don’t have any cuts or sores in your feet before using this method as vinegar could irritate your wound.
5. And if you want to add a little bit of freshness, you could use antifungal powder like Candid Powder or Absorb Powder. This will not only add a fresh scent, but also control the sweating.
How to combat stinky shoes and socks?
1. The most basic step to follow here is to regularly change socks, wash them well and wear fresh ones every morning. And if you’re someone who wears shoes on the regular, make sure to always, always wear socks. Socks help contain the moisture to a certain degree, whereas wearing shoes without socks is only going make your feet sweatier.
2. Another easy way to get rid of stinking shoes is to have two pairs of shoes and alternate between them every day. This practice will let your shoes dry out the moisture through the day sufficiently, before being worn again. Wearing the same shoes everyday doesn’t allow them to dry and leads to more bacteria build up.
3. If you’re someone who gets their shoes wet every day on the way to work, keep a separate pair handy under your office desk. Once you get to work, change into the fresh pair so that you’re not feeling awkward about your feet during important meetings.
4. It is also advisable to wear more open and breathable shoes during monsoon. If they are open-toed or made of a material that dries easily, you wouldn’t have the problem of excessive moisture, thus cutting out all the other problems.
5. Invest in a shoe spray which is easily available in any footwear store and spray it into your shoes at regular intervals. But be warned; this works more as a temporary solution if you don’t maintain the hygiene that is required.
If your feet are prone to smelling, it’s very important to maintain the hygiene of that area. Failing to do so could lead to fungal or bacterial infections and quickly become a lot severe than you would have expected. So don’t be miserly about giving the minimal time, effort and money your feet ask for to be happy and healthy.
