You, someday, must have already taken off your shoes or sneakers and felt that bad smell, the foot odor. You must have wondered: where does it come from and how did I get this foot odor?
All over our body we have glands that produce a fluid we call sweat. When we sweat, we say we are sweating. There are people who perspire more than others – it depends on the body.
Sweat can be felt all over the body, but especially in the armpits, face, palms and soles.
On the soles of our feet there are thousands of sweat glands
When we put on closed shoes, our feet start to sweat, and this sweat has nowhere to go. Then, the bacteria present in our body start to feed on this sweat mixed with dead cells of the skin, and the result of this action is the bad smell that bacteria, sometimes accompanied by fungi, give off.
There are some ways to avoid the bad smell on your feet
To avoid foot odor, it is very important to follow some tips:
⇒ wear cotton socks, because they absorb the sweat from the feet;
⇒ Do not wear socks more than once;
⇒ Put on sneakers or shoes to sunbathe, so that they dry the sweat, reducing the amount of bacteria, which reduces the bad smell;
⇒ Dry your feet thoroughly after showering, mainly between the little fingers;
⇒ If you can, don't wear the same shoe every day;
⇒ Avoid wearing shoes made of rubber and plastic material, because they heat up and prevent the feet from being ventilated, facilitating the production of sweat, and increasing the chance of foot odor;
⇒ use talc, suitable for the feet, which reduce the amount of sweat produced.
By Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
