Friday, April 3, 2009

How To Reduce Foot Odor



Tips to Reduce Foot Odor *


So, since foot odor is caused by bacteria digesting sweat, there are two main ways to reduce the stink. You can:


  • decrease the amount of bacteria on your feet

  • decrease the amount of sweat that collects on your feet and in your shoes


Reducing the level of bacteria is really a matter of cleanliness. To control the bacteria population on you feet, you should:



  • wash your feet with strong anti-bacterial soap

  • wear clean socks

  • don't wear the same shoes everyday - give a pair of shoes 24 hours or more to air out before wearing them again

To reduce the amount of sweat that collects in your shoes, you should:


  • wear well-ventilated shoes instead of very constrictive shoes, such as boots

  • always wear socks, preferably made of cotton or other absorbent materials that absorb a lot of the sweat so the bacteria can't feed on it

  • change your socks a few times a day

  • buy some absorbent Odor-Eater type shoe inserts

  • apply an antiperspirant to your feet


­If your foot odor is really bad and these solutions don't help much, then you should see a doctor. There are a number of prescription drugs that can treat serious foot odor, some by killing bacteria and some by reducing foot sweat.



* from How Stuff Works