Everybody stinks. It’s a fact of human existence. At any given moment, our bodies (or the microbes living in and on them) can produce a wide range of odors. And that’s a good thing. From an evolutionary standpoint, how we smell to one another offers insight into compatibility with a potential mate, provides chemical signals about our physical or emotional state, and much more, according to Science Direct.
But that’s not the kind of body odor most people are concerned about, mainly because those chemical cues are often so subtle we don’t even register them as scents. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with the rank, pungent stink of plain old B.O.
“It’s a fact of life: sometimes your feet may be malodorous,” Maryann Hartzell, assistant dean and medical director of the Tufts University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, told Discover.
More specifically, Hartzell reminds us, it’s not your actual feet that are giving off that distinctive, overripe, cheese-gone-bad aroma. For that, you should blame the millions of bacteria that are perpetually camped out on your body.
Read More: People Are Drawn To Others With Similar Body Odor
What Causes Foot Odor?
Our bodies are hosts to countless microscopic organisms. Sweat glands pump out fluids that keep you cool, but also contain various proteins and fats, according to the American Society for Microbiology.
The bacteria that live on the skin feast on these proteins and fats, then excrete acids or compounds that we associate with the distinctive, sharp, sour, pungent tang of B.O. But foot odor (the medical term is bromodosis) often has a very specific, sometimes gag-inducing aromatic profile that most of us are likely to compare to stinky cheese. What’s causing this?
For one thing, different bacteria may produce different smells. Staphylococcus bacteria, for example, include many different species that reside in our skin. Despite what you’ve read, most of these bacteria are harmless to us and not likely to cause a dreaded staph infection, unless you have some underlying health or immunity issue. But some do produce different aroma profiles.
Other bacteria like S. hominis are generally associated with body odor that is often compared to raw onions or rotting meat. Meanwhile, S. epidermidis is more closely associated with a cheesy, old-sneaker kind of smell. The same is true for Brevibacterium, another common bacterial strain that gives off a rank, cheesy, clean-out-the-locker-room smell, and tends to be more concentrated in the feet.
Hartzell also points out one obvious fact related to foot odor.
“Consider that shoes are deep, damp places,” she told Discover. “Foam insteps and other elements of the shoe won’t dry out unless someone takes the time to dry them out. Bacteria will accumulate,” she notes. And so will foot odor.
How to Prevent Foot Odor
Regardless of the source, ordinary foot odor is fairly easy to address. Here’s how:
Wash the dust from your feet. As a first step, we’ll assume that you wash your feet every day, taking particular care to use soap and hot water to wash between your toes, where bacteria love to nestle. If this is not part of your regular hygiene routine, much of what follows may not be super-helpful.
Get air. And light. To keep your shoes from becoming dank caves of fungal and bacterial awfulness, remember to store them in a place where they can air out. Often, this won’t be in a closet. If your shoes are nesting grounds for bad odors, set them in an open, airy place, especially one that’s sunny, for at least 24 hours. Light and heat will help kill off any funk-inducing bacteria that have colonized your kicks.
You might consider UV. If you don’t have a handy porch or windowsill to air your shoes, consider getting a UV light shoe sanitizer. These devices can reduce the colonies of bacteria that can migrate to the foam interior material of your shoes, according to a study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Watch your tongue. Tongues and foam inserts in shoes tend to harbor the smelliest bacteria that can produce foot funk.
“So, loosen your laces and pull the tongue of the shoe forward to let maximum air out and let UV light or sunlight in,” Hartzell told Discover.
You should also pull out the foam insoles of your shoes and give them a regular sniff. If they seem funky, get rid of them and buy yourself new in-soles or inserts, available at most shoe stores.
Be wicked. Most of us still wear cotton or cotton-blend socks, which tend to trap moisture and sweat, and therefore odors. Splurge on some new socks; look for moisture-wicking materials, such as synthetic sport knits. But wool and bamboo can also do a surprisingly good job keeping feet dry, and therefore less smelly.
Block the sweat. Since sweat is the main delivery system for the materials that bacteria can turn into foot odor, keep the perspiration to a minimum by applying anti-perspirant sprays, lotions, powders, or roll-ons that can keep your feet dryer. You’ll find numerous over-the-counter options at your local pharmacy.
Know when to call for help. While nobody is delighted to smell their own stinky feet, the occasional sniff check (performed by you or a partner) can be a big help when it comes to determining if you just need to do a better job scrubbing your toes, or whether you might need the help of a podiatrist or primary-care doctor.
“It’s subjective, of course, but in general, if you can’t stand your own stink, that’s a good indication that you should probably get checked out by a doctor,” Hartzell told Discover.
This way you can rule out any underlying health issues more serious than funky feet, such as a bacterial or fungal infection. And even if you do happen to have more aromatic feet than the average person, your doctor or podiatrist can suggest some prescription remedies to sink the stink once and for all.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Read More: Biologist Offers Insight on the Human Foot
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from a study published inInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology:Effectiveness of ultraviolet-C light treatment of shoes in reducing the transfer of pathogens into patient rooms by shoes of healthcare personnel
- This article references information from ScienceDirect: Body Odor
- This article references information from American Society for Microbiology: Microbial Origins of Body Odor