Thursday, May 8, 2008
When I started high school, the cool kids wore brown dress shoes with no socks in the summer. I followed suit, trying to fit in. The result was shoes that smelled so bad my mom made me move to a room farther away from the rest of the family. It was the only way they could avoid the stench coming from my closet. Clearly, the style change hadn’t made me as popular as I had hoped.
As summer rolls around, the heat gets turned up in our shoes. Our feet sweat more and our shoes can begin to smell. David Laha, a podiatrist with Kansas City Foot Specialists in Overland Park, says combating the summertime stink is as simple as washing and rotating.
“The No. 1 thing is to wash your feet every day,” Laha says.
Laha suggests doing more than just standing in the shower while water hits your feet. Soaking feet and thoroughly washing the bottoms and between toes with soap can clear the bacteria that causes feet to smell. Laha also says that rotating pairs of shoes can limit the stink that builds up. Rotating shoes and letting one pair dry for a day will help keep bacteria from festering in the damp environment. Wearing socks helps, too. The sock acts as a barrier between your feet and the inside of the shoe where bacteria can live longer.
Laha says smelly feet and athlete’s foot are two different problems. Athlete’s foot is caused by a fungus that some people are more susceptible to than others. The fungus is everywhere, and if you are prone to getting athlete’s foot, you will likely feel its effects if you come in contact with it. Wearing sandals can help ward off athlete’s foot as fungi like dark, damp places, Laha says. Just as with keeping your feet from smelling, keeping your shoes dry and your feet aired out can help combat athlete’s foot, as well.
My smelly feet problems eventually ended—along with my exile from my family—when I finally learned to wear socks and wash my feet more often. Doing the same in the summer heat will keep your shoes fresh and your roommates happy.
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