The fancy term for smelly feet is bromohydrosis. Hyperhidrosis refers to sweaty feet. In our family we call it “swamp foot”.
Foot odor is caused primarily from sweat, and the feet contain an estimated quarter of a million sweat glands. Just as in the armpits, foot sweat is odor-free when it comes out, but the bacteria on the surface of the feet act on the sweat and the stink begins. It becomes more of an issue down there, because our shoes and socks create a dark and moist environment that allows the bacteria to flourish.
The two solutions to the smelly foot problem are to keep your feet clean and to keep them dry. In the ER, we have a lot of experience with smelly feet. When caring for a particularly unkempt patient, an experienced ER doctor or nurse knows that the smell gets worse when the socks come off. There is a special name for this condition – we call it “toxic sock syndrome.”
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"Why do feet smell?" was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm.