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
