Unpleasant foot odor - how to get rid of it?

Each of us at least once in his life faced with the unpleasant smell of the feet. On the feet is a huge amount of sweat glands, which in a day emit more than 100 ml of liquid. Normally, sweat evaporates quickly, without causing any inconvenience. However, sometimes for various reasons, moisture can not evaporate, for example, due to poor-quality shoes or socks. As a result, the legs disappear, microbes on the surface of the legs multiply especially quickly, which in turn, contributes to the appearance of a sour and unpleasant smell. Sweaty and smelly feet are a real problem. You can not suddenly go to visit, you can not take off your shoes if necessary in front of people. In some cases, the smell becomes so sharp that it is felt even without removing the shoe. This gives rise to the development of complexes, so the situation needs to be urgently changed.Moreover, to cope with such a problem is not difficult. In this article we will talk about the unpleasant smell of the feet - why it appears, how to fight it yourself and what to do if the smell does not go away for a long time.

Why do feet smell

Offensive odors can be associated with various causes - failure to comply with hygiene standards or physiological characteristics of the body. Excessive sweating on the feet may even indicate some diseases. Consider provoking factors in more detail.

1. Poor quality shoes. We appreciate good and expensive leather shoes for the features of natural material. The fact is that the skin allows moisture to pass from the inside, that is, it does not interfere with the evaporation of sweat, due to which the foot does not remain wet, it does not preempt. At the same time, the skin does not allow moisture to pass outside - you can safely wear such shoes in wet weather. Therefore, cramped shoes made from cheap synthetic materials are one of the common causes of unpleasant foot odor. This is especially true for men, because almost always men's shoes are represented by fully closed models.
2. Socks, stockings, socks. The same effect of the sauna can be achieved if you use textiles made from artificial materials. Most often we are talking about synthetics - it does not let in moisture and air.
3. Hygiene. All people sweat - this is absolutely normal. But the difference is that one person's sweat is completely odorless, while another has a sharp, fetid odor, even with slight physical exertion. It's all about the bacteria that live on the skin. If you do not follow the basic rules of hygiene and rarely wash, bacteria will actively multiply, the smell will be pronounced. Feet have a particularly unpleasant smell, if you wear shoes on bare feet without a sock, if you constantly walk in closed shoes in warm weather, if you do not change wet shoes and socks for a long time, etc.
4. Fungus. When the unpleasant smell has appeared recently, and you cannot find an explanation for this - for example, you did not buy new shoes, wear socks made of natural fabric, etc., the matter may be in the nail fungus. Carefully examine the skin of the feet and nails. If there are areas with scaling, burning, redness on the epidermis, if the nails become dim or in some places have become thicker, this is a fungus. The sooner you begin treatment, the sooner you get rid of the problem.It is better to deal with the fungus complex and be sure to consult a doctor.
5. Physiology and diseases. As you know, the features of the body are different for everyone, someone sweats especially hard, others, on the contrary, practically do not experience sweating. However, it has been observed that men sweat more strongly than women, this is normal, which means that the unpleasant smell from the legs of the stronger sex occurs more often. In addition, increased sweating is more common in obese people, patients with hormonal disorders, diabetics. Excessive sweating of the legs may indicate diagnoses such as tuberculosis, IRR, heart disease and blood vessels. Also, a person can be diagnosed - hyperhidrosis, when the whole person is sweating very actively - not only the legs, but also the armpits, neck, and other parts of the body.
6. Hormones. Human nature relates its various manifestations to the animal world. Hormonal alterations in some cases lead to excessive sweating. For example, during puberty, adolescent boys sweat more than usual, as the body attracts "individuals" of the opposite sex.After a couple of years, the hormonal background of a young man normalizes, excessive sweating will pass, but for now you will have to follow the rules of hygiene especially carefully. Very often women complain of sweating after childbirth. But here, nature does everything for specific purposes - excessive sweating of a woman after childbirth is necessary for the baby so that he can find his mother by smell, because the rest of his senses are not yet so developed.
7. Nutrition. Excess content in the food of spicy, salty and spicy dishes contributes to the release of "caustic" sweat, which has a particularly unpleasant odor.

To cope with persistent amber, you need to identify the cause of its occurrence. In most cases, the provoking factor lies in improper or inadequate hygiene.

Hygiene rules in the fight against unpleasant foot odor

After all the procedures performed on dry skin, you need to wear a clean cotton or linen sock, wear quality shoes. In the warmer months, try to choose a ventilated model. Even men's shoes have flight options - with tiny holes for ventilation. Have for each season two pairs of shoes to wear shoes every other day. If you constantly wear only one pair, it will not have time to dry thoroughly during the night, this will lead to increased odor. With heavy sweating, you can put pieces of a crumpled newspaper or sawdust in a bag into shoes - these substances adsorb moisture. Wear clean socks every day, even if it seems to you that your legs did not sweat at all yesterday.

If your feet sweat a lot during the day, you can carry clean socks and replaceable insoles, you can change your shoes in the toilet.Before leaving the house, you can sprinkle your feet with baking soda, talcum powder or starch - the bulk solids perfectly absorb moisture and protect the foot from dampness. Periodically, it is necessary to treat not only the feet with antiseptic compounds, but also the shoes on the inside, for example, with a solution of potassium permanganate, after which you should give the shoes a good dry. It is regularly necessary to do contrasting foot baths - this improves the functioning of blood vessels, increases blood circulation in the feet, after such training the legs will sweat much less.

Pharmacy remedies against unpleasant foot odor

In the struggle for clean and well-groomed legs, you can use numerous pharmacy tools. Most of them have a complex effect - they inhibit the production of sweat, disinfect the skin surface, eliminate bacteria and have adsorbing properties.

1. Foot deodorants. These are special products that are designed to get rid of unpleasant odors. For example, antiperspirants suppress sweat glands, legs simply do not sweat. However, they should be used only during the day, at night the legs should breathe.Healing antiperspirants are sold at the pharmacy, among them Klima Spray, FreshFooot, Neutra-Active. In addition, there are deodorants that do not suppress sweating completely, but significantly minimize it - Deokontrol, Vichy. Many of the agents have an antibacterial effect in order to suppress the development of pathogens that cause the offensive odor.
2. Antifungal agents. If you have a fungus, you need to use antimycotic drugs to help you get rid of the problem of foot odor. This group of drugs can be presented in the form of drops, ointments, lotions and even nail polish. The most effective brands to date are Exoderil, Batrafen, Lamisil, Loceryl, etc. Apply antifungal agents should be only on a clean and dried surface of the skin, the nail should be cut as much as possible. The treatment is quite long - antifungal agents should be used for several months, until the diseased nail is completely replaced by a healthy nail plate.
3. Creams and lotions. These are special tools that can be used constantly.They not only relieve the smell, but also have a medicinal effect. That is, when taking a course, your legs will stop smelling and sweating, even if you stop using medicinal formulations. Among these creams, you can select the most effective and effective - Dry-Dry, Lavilin, Deo-control from Kalina, Green pharmacy.
4. Cheap pharmacy tools. Among the expensive specialized creams you can find cheap, but no less effective drugs that are sold in each pharmacy. The most common and effective tool is Teymurov paste - it perfectly dries and disinfects the skin surface. It is useful to apply Boric acid, Formidron, Burnt alum, Lavender oil, etc. on the feet.

Submitted substances can simply be rubbed into the skin, and you can do them on the basis of their baths. Regular water treatments, especially cool ones, will help to normalize the work of the sweat glands.

Folk remedies in the fight against sweating feet

You can get rid of the unpleasant smell using simple recipes, the ingredients for which are in every home.

1. Vinegar and alcohol. Mix the two ingredients and keep the mixture in a special bottle. Every day, in the morning and in the evening, wipe your feet with the prepared solution. Vinegar fights fungus and skin lesions, and alcohol perfectly kills bacteria.
2. Baths. You can soak your feet in special antiseptic solutions. It can be a laundry bleach - just two tablespoons per liter of warm water. Strong tea can be added to the water - there are a lot of tannins in it that dry the skin. You can make trays on the basis of herbal decoctions and oak bark, you can add sea salt, baking soda and crushed furatsilin tablets. All this will quickly and permanently relieve the unpleasant scent.
3. Laundry soap. Ordinary laundry soap not only has a pronounced antibacterial effect. It contains salicylic acid, which dries the skin. This will help get rid of excess moisture in the shoes.
4. Citrus peel. It is very useful to wipe your feet with lemon or orange before your long working day. Acid inhibits the development of bacteria, in addition, the legs acquire a light citrus scent.
5. Horsetail Horsetail is an excellent medicine that can cope with hyperhidrosis. On the basis of the broth, you can do the bath, but not everyone wants to mess with cooking broth every day. It is much more convenient to prepare the alcohol tincture. A bottle of dark glass should be filled with fresh horsetail, top with alcohol or vodka, let it brew for 20 days. After this, the tincture is filtered and stored in the refrigerator for up to three months. If necessary, wipe with horsetail tincture of the foot - the smell will not bother you for another 6-8 hours after treatment.
6. Beer and pomegranate peel. On the basis of pomegranate pelts you need to prepare a strong broth - about three tablespoons of chopped raw material per liter of boiling water. Boil the composition in a water bath for at least half an hour, let it stand under the lid for another couple of hours. Then drain the broth and add a glass of unfiltered beer to it. Dip your feet in the resulting liquid, leave for 15-20 minutes. In pomegranate there are a lot of tannins that dry the skin, and brewer's yeast normalizes the work of the sweat glands, sweating becomes less pronounced. To make such baths 2-3 times a week and only memories will remain from the unpleasant smell.

In the fight against unpleasant foot odor, it is very important not the remedy selected for treatment, but the regularity of its use. With hygiene and alternating medicinal creams, baths and rubbing, you can get rid of an unpleasant smell in a week.

The easiest and most romantic way to get rid of the unpleasant smell of the feet is to walk in the morning dew. But do not try to do it in the conditions of a city lawn, where dogs are often walked - the effect may turn out the opposite!

Video: what to do if feet stink