Stinky feet!

Dirty Toes Joe

Barefooters
Jul 20, 2010
92
52
18
So boy #1, 15, has incredibly stinky feet. He's been running cross country, and the only shoes he's worn are xeroshoes sandals or running shoes. He goes barefoot pretty much all the time except for practice and meets.

His feet STINK. Like rotten German potato salad. Vinegar-smelling, gag-inducing rottenness that will choke a maggot from across the room.

He can scrub his feet with soap and the smell is still there - barely diminished.

We've been hitting them with some athlete's foot spray for the last couple days, but it's not much better.

He's got a little bit of peeling between his toes, which he had attributed to blisters from his toes rubbing on longer runs (this occurred while running 5-9 miles in the xeroshoes sandals). No other visible defects at all.

Any ideas on de-funking his feet?

Thanks.
 
From personal experience the "peeling" between the toes is athletes foot. The extreme odor is another confirming symptom. I found that cream works better than spray. I would also put medicated powder in my shoes and socks before putting them on. I don't get athletes foot as often as I used to but when I do it takes 2 -3 weeks of daily treatment to cure.
 
Had something similar. Dumped the shoes and wore only sandals (new ones), no socks bare feet - summer helped.
Could it also be something with hormones or diet?
 
:hilarious:
 
From personal experience the "peeling" between the toes is athletes foot. The extreme odor is another confirming symptom. I found that cream works better than spray. I would also put medicated powder in my shoes and socks before putting them on. I don't get athletes foot as often as I used to but when I do it takes 2 -3 weeks of daily treatment to cure.

Thanks! We actually have a couple tubes of the cream kicking around - forgot all about it, and never really considered it would work better. Makes sense, though.

He scrubbed his feet in the shower with a stiff brush and antibacterial dial gold soap today - noticable improvement. We'll have him start using the cream and see what happens.
 
Shoes made from synthetic materials can be very hard to de-funk, so good shoe hygiene from day one is important. Get them bone dry as quickly as possible after a run. If there's an insole, take it out. Lay them out in the sun if you can. Do not, under any circumstances, put the shoes in a bag, box, trunk of a car, wrap them in a tee shirt, or put them into any enclosed space while they are still damp. Rotating between pairs of shoes can help, especially if he's doing two-a-days. Launder the shoes every week or so. He should wear socks, a clean dry pair every time he puts them on. This keeps dead skin from accumulating in the shoe and causing odor. Make sure they are cotton socks, not synthetic or synthetic blends. The worst synthetic for odor control is polyester, so avoid "wicking" socks. Launder the socks inside out to better get rid of dead skin flakes. Those things, along with getting the athletes foot under control, should take care of most of the odor issues.

Edit: typo
 
Thanks for the replies everybody! It's getting better. The shoes go on a dryer every day after his runs, and get washed at least once a week. He's been putting the athlete's foot cream on his feet when he doesn't forget. (Teenagers! Argh!)

@Noodles - don't worry. His feet don't hurt much at all. In fact, he hasn't mentioned it once since we started treating it. Most of the discomfort was experienced by everybody else in the room when he took his shoes off!