how do you wash your feet to get rid of smelly odor? I have been washing it with soap but it still smell. I tried washing it with a bit of bleach. it doesn't get rid of smell easily.

Buy a box of discount store tea. Common and cheap black tea is fine. Bagged or leaf are okay. Brew up strong batch a quart with ten bags and boil a long time. Let cool with the bags, leaf, still in. Strain out the leaves or remove the bags. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge.

Dilute a quart or so to a little over a gallon. You can use it lukewarm or dilute with hot water and use warm. Don't use so hot you hurt yourself.

Soak you feet in this brew for half an hour a couple of times a day. A good time to read the newspaper or watch TV. Don't wash it off. Just towel dry and move on.

Stored covered it can be reused for a couple of days.

The tannin in the tea shuts down your sweat glands and allows the natural flora to rebalance. Done twice a day for a week or so you should see real results and you can back off to once a day. As the flora normalize you can back off to once every two days.

Some people prefer to use the tea concentrate and to paint it on and let it air dry. This can be handy for trips where the whole soaking thing can be inconvenient.

Also it pays to look at footwear. Wearing the same shoes every day can make it worse. Rotating footwear so they can dry out can help. Natural fiber socks and changing them often can also help.

Foot odor is caused by bacteria from fatty acids deposited by our sweat. Our feet sweat throughout the day and the fatty acids they produce decompose making stinky feet.

The key is try and keep your feet dry. When I was working long hours underway I had to air my boots out every night and soak my feet warm water and antibacterial soap. I have never heard of using bleach but If I was sweating extra hard that day I would sometimes find time to switch out my socks.

Hope this helps

might be a fungal infection too. Leads to stinky feet, after showering rinse with diluted vinegar, 1tbl to 1 quart or so, maybe a little more or pee on your feet after you wash all the soap down the drain (DW won't like that.) Soap is basic and leaves your skin alkaline. Your skin is designed to be slightly acidic. Urine and vinegar are acidic. Plagarized advice from my old country doctor.

-w
(he who once had smelly feet, not so much anymore)

Go to your local pharmacist and go for the feet section and pick of the the many sprays, powders, creams, soaks, etc.

Keep your feet dry, clean and change soaks regularly.

For fungus, Tea Tree oil diluted in water is hard to beat. Amazing stuff. Its also in Water Jel burn gel BTW.

Listerine.

Or an ax.

Of course, the ax is a one time only fix!

But very effective.

You also want to keep your shoes dry and clean. Most tennis shoes can be run through the wash on the gentle cycle with a couple towels. Take the insoles out when washing, or drying. And get a boot drier like the Peet to dry them out after washing or if you've gotten sweaty.

I had a friend in Panama that used the salt crystal deodorant for his feet. He had really bad foot odor, as attested to by his DW, and that stuff really worked. I use itfor regular deodorant (TMI, I know) because of sensitivities to chemicals in normal products (TMI, I know, again).

This is what the product looks like. I have found it a natural health food stores and some places like Walgreens/Rexall/CVS.

Usual disclaimers.

http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Body-Deodorant-Stick-4-25-Ounces/dp/B0000AQJ9N

BTW: It lasts a long time if you don't drop it.

Hi Picard.

If you have washed your feet thoroughly and your feet are still wiffy then you may well have a toenail fungal infection.



Where toenails are discoloured brittle and hard to cut.

You will therefore need something like Curanail http://www.curanail.co.uk/what-is-a-fungal-nail-infection.html?gclid=CK_k6d_q9pICFQVrMAod-V6vBQ

Toenails are painted every week and the infected nail then grows out without spreading the infection.

Athletes foot (again another fungal infection) can be cured by a strict washing routine, especially between the toes using soap containing Tea Tree oil or Bog Myrtle together with an appropriate medicated foot powder and by wearing either pure woolen or X-static Socks and leather shoes rather than shoes made from synthetic materials. And always use flip flops in the local gym or public bathing areas to prevent re-infection.

If your toes look like this



Then you should seek medical attention.

Fungus = Vicks VapoRub. It can take a long time to get rid of completely.

That's been my experience, too.

Wash them twice a day with soap and warm water, then dry them very carefully, especially between the toes. The medication I've used tells you to do this before applying it, and I've found if I do it I don't need the medication. It can take a few days.

Take extra care with hand-washing also. The bugs that live on feet are just as happy anywhere moist, including your bum crack and around your eyes.

Oh man, I was just starting to eat dinner!!!

Dr. Sholl's

Either use a shoe/boot dryer, or don't wear the same shoes 2 days in a row - let them totally dry out - prefer every 3rd day

Sock changes - I keep a spare pare at work, in the truck (with a change of shoes) AND in my backpack

Potassium permanganate and water used as a footsoak works wonders.

Use enough KMNO4 (potassium permanganate powder availible off the internet) so that the foot bath solution is a dark purple.

Place your feet in the solution ant let them soak for at least 30 minutes. You want it to soak into the dense callous like the heel area.

Be advised: It will stain your toenails chocolate brown! as well as deep callous areas! So don't freak out.

Do the foot soak every week for 3 weeks. It works like magic.

Damn, you ask the weirdest questions and make the strangest comments!!!

Stop re-wearing your socks after you take them off.

Dry your feet BEFORE putting on socks and shoes.

Get some fungal meds and apply to your feet religiously for a month. You probably have athlete's foot.

Slather on petroleum jelly daily until its gone. Fugus, athletes foot, etc hate the stuff.