Sheepskin boots are a popular footwear that has swept the nation over the last few years. You can find them in many different name brands as well as in knockoffs. While they may be attractive, the construction of these boots may be causing you to have a very common problem with your feet. That problem is severe foot odor. The good news is, you do not have to give your boots away. There are several solutions that may work to get rid of the smell.
Where Is That Odor Coming From?
Your feet work hard. They support your body, facilitate your movement, keep you balanced, and allow you to put your best foot forward when the occasion calls for it. To keep themselves cool, your feet also contain approximately 250,000 sweat glands that are capable of producing more than a pint of sweat each day. While this is not the cause of your foot odor, this is where the problem begins.
Normal foot odor is created when your feet perspire and the perspiration gets trapped by your footwear. This causes the natural bacteria that already exist on your skin to eat away at this perspiration, which in turn produces isovaleric acid, or the source of your foot odor. In addition to this, the odor you are smelling can also be caused by several other things. These things include
- medications
- fungal infections
- disease
- poor hygiene
- over-wearing shoes
Your sheepskin boots can contribute to your foot odor by keeping your feet extra warm, which will cause them to sweat more, as well as by preventing the moisture from escaping. This excessive amount of sweat can increase the chances of you having foot odor.
What Can You Do to Fix the Problem?
Use a foot deodorant—Foot odor is often an easy fix for most people. Keep your feet clean and dry. If your feet sweat excessively, consider applying an antiperspirant to your feet that contains aluminum salt. These salts are normally listed as one of two active ingredients, which are
- aluminum zirconium (tricholorohydrex)
- aluminum chloride (hexahydrate)
Always wear clean, moisture-wicking socks—Moisture-wicking socks will help to pull the moisture away from your skin, which in turn will help to keep your feet drier and give the bacteria less moisture to interact with.
Rotate your footwear—Although your sheepskin boots may go with all of your winter outfits, consider wearing them every other day and wearing something else cute on the days in between. This will give the fleece in your boots time enough to dry out.
Soak your feet—Another method that will help to reduce your foot odor is to neutralize the odor and kill the bacteria and fungus that may be growing on your feet by putting them in a foot soak especially designed for this. The beauty of this solution is that you can make a soak using ingredients that you may already have around your home. Here is one that you may try:
Vinegar Foot Bath
Gather together
- a foot basin large enough for both feet
- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
- enough warm (but not too hot) water to cover the tops of your feet
You know vinegar can be good for a lot of things, and getting rid of foot odor is no exception. By soaking your feet in vinegar, you will create an acidic environment that bacteria will have difficulty surviving in.
Fill your basin with your water, add your vinegar, and soak your feet for approximately 15 minutes twice per day. Rinse your feet off and make sure you dry them really well after your soak.
If you have really smelly feet that do not seem to get any better no matter what you do or what footwear you put on, consult a local podiatrist office like Laurel Podiatry Associates, LLC. They will be able to perform a full examination and may be able to find other reasons for the smell as well as other solutions for your condition.
Share