It is natural for your feet to smell bad, especially after being overly active on a particular day. You may think that your feet smell because of how much they sweat. However, the truth is, sweat itself is odorless. The culprit for stinky feet is the bacteria that thrive on the sweat on the bottom of your feet.
If you struggle with foot odor, then chances are you are not taking care of your feet properly as it rarely is a sign of a health problem. Therefore, you don’t have to go to the doctor if you have consistently smelly feet. The only time when you may want to see the doctor is if you have exhausted the easy remedies that you will learn about shortly and none of them work for you. Let’s now go over six easy remedies for stinky feet.
Clean Your Feet Daily
The one way to banish smelly feet is to ensure that you are giving your feet a good scrubbing daily. You will want to do that later in the day. When you are taking a shower, don’t forget to wash your feet. Take a washcloth and use soap to wash them well. Or, if you are not planning to shower, you will want to wash your feet anyway with a washcloth, water, and soap. Dry them well after washing them especially if you plan to put socks and shoes on them. If your feet are wet after washing them and you are wearing socks and/or shoes, then bacteria will breed which will defeat the purpose.
Soak Your Feet Once A Week
If you struggle with stinky feet and washing your feet is not helping you the way you hoped, then give your feet a good 20-minute soak in a basin. Add some Epsom salt or vinegar which will pull away all of the bacteria quickly. Therefore, your feet will be squeaky clean after doing that.
Don’t Give Your Feet The Opportunity To Get Wet
If your feet get wet, you will want to immediately dry them up and change your socks. If you keep your feet consistently dry, then you will not struggle with smelly feet too often. Dry feet do not allow bacteria to thrive and grow so quickly which is why your feet are less likely to smell. You will also want to wear breathable shoes and socks so sweat does not accumulate. Mesh shoes are good, as well as shoes made with leather, and cotton socks. However, synthetic fabrics and materials are not breathable. You can even put foot-odor powders such as cornstarch in your shoes, or odor eaters that take in the sweat.
Go Barefoot Sometimes
If you are at home, you will want to go barefoot so you can air out your feet. You will also want to air your shoes out by alternating the shoes you want to wear. Change your shoes every other day so you can do that.
Disinfect Your Shoes
Spray disinfectant in your shoes and don’t forget to cover your insoles with it. When you disinfect your shoes, you will want to dry them in the sun so they dry quicker. That will be a good way to absorb and kill the bacteria in your shoes.
Essential Oils Can Help
Some essential oils can kill bacteria such as eucalyptus and juniper oil. You will want to only use a drop or two and mix it with a carrier oil such as coconut oil to rub on your feet because the essential oils are strong and can burn your skin. You may even want to put a drop of essential oil in your foot soak so it is diluted in water.
If none of these tips help reduce your foot odor, then you will want to look into seeing the doctor as the foot odor could be caused by an underlying condition. However, the odds are with you that these tips will help banish your stinky feet.
