Do people around you cover their nose or turn swiftly while you remove your shoes or pull off your socks? If you are so embarrassed by your foot odour, we’ve got your back. Just like excessive sweating on face, we’ve covered all the required deets on causes and home remedies for smelly feet to get rid of your foot odour and YES, they really work!
What Causes Foot Odour?
While we all look out for ways of how to get rid of smelly feet, ever wondered what might be the root cause of such smelly feet? There are a lot of bacteria that find a natural habitat in your skin cells and the sweat it produces on your foot. As a result, these bacteria produce such a smell which is stinky. It can also arise due to prolonged use of the same socks or shoes, due to some medications, due to some fungal disease, genetics or even due to lack of proper blood circulation. Besides these, for the elderly, smelly feet might be due to diabetes and some other illness.
8 Excellent Home Remedies For Smelly Feet
So let’s get to the different ways to put an end to your smelly feet. Listed below are some simple yet effective ways on how to get rid of smelly feet.
1. Baking Soda And Cornstarch As Foot Powders
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The basic idea here is to put an end to the sweat and to kill the fungus. Simply spray some powder or use cornstarch in its place before you wear your socks. Cornstarch absorbs any moisture on your feet and keeps them from sweating. Try using baking soda as well, as this will kill the fungus and bacteria effectively. Both these ingredients will help in neutralizing the odour. This is one of the best solutions to how to get rid of smelly feet.
2. Deodorizing Spray
Create a DIY spray to spritz on your feet every day before wearing your shoes. You can easily prepare this remedy for smelly feet by adding 1/3 some sage and rosemary into a vessel with some water and brew it for a few minutes. This will extract the essence, now add this solution into 4 cups of boiling water. Add some essential oils of your choice to the mix. This will add fragrance to your DIY foot spray. Fragrances like peppermint, lavender and lemon will keep your feet smelling fresh and breezy. Add the essential oils once the mixture has cooled down a little. Stir the mixture well, transfer it into a spray bottle. Spray this as you wish during the day or before going to bed. This batch will stay fresh for about 10 days. You can also store this remedy for smelly feet in the refrigerator if you’d like.
3. Black Tea Foot Bath
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While black tea has a lot of health-related benefits associated with it, it is also one of the best home remedies for smelling feet. Add two tea bags to one cup of boiling water and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Next, take out the bags and add half a cup of water and let it cool. Now soak your foot into this solution for 15- 30 minutes. As black tea is rich in tannic acid it helps in closing the pores of your sweat glands and being a very powerful antioxidant it kills the bacteria on your feet. Follow this every day and your foot odour will be gone eventually.
4. Thyme Oil And Vinegar Foot Soak
By now you might have grasped that killing the bacteria on your feet is the only way to get rid of smelly feet. Similar to the above smelly feet remedies, in a tub of warm water add a few drops of vinegar and thyme oil. Both the ingredients have the needed antiseptic properties to kill bacteria and fungus that causes odour. Soak your legs in this for 15 – 20 minutes daily and it will neutralize any unpleasant odour.
Alternatively, you can just add 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar to a tub of warm water and soak your legs in that. The acid in the solution will help in killing the bacteria that has inhabited the sweat glands on your feet. It’s a highly effective foot odour remedy and will save you from all those embarrassing moments.
5. Epsom Salt Foot Soak
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In a tub filled with warm water, add 2-3 spoons of Epsom salt and immerse your legs in it for 15-25 minutes. The astringent in the Epsom salt works as a great home remedy for foot smell and makes it easier to get rid of any foot odour by minimizing sweat and killing the bacteria that resides in it. Epsom salt will also help relax your tired feet!
6. Apply Lavender Oil
Lavender oil known for its soothing and relaxing aroma, it works like a dream to cure many skin and hair-related ailments. This essential oil is one of the best home remedies for smelling feet and has the needed ingredients to kill the bacteria on your foot. It is a powerful stress buster and aids in releasing anxiety and promoting restful sleep. So it should come as no surprise when this essential oil can also cure your foot odour. On the palm of your hands, add a few drops of lavender oil to your foot cream or body lotion and apply this on your feet every night before bed. Put on your socks and you will wake up the next morning to odourless, soft feet!
Some of the other essential oils that would help in curing your foot odour includes
- Tea tree oil
- Eucalyptus
- Lemon oil
- Coconut oil
- Peppermint oil
- Sage oil
- Rosemary oil
7. Aromatic Foot Scrub
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Prepare a foot scrub on your own with the simple ingredients available at home like two spoons of sugar, a hand full of mint leaves, any base oil (like coconut, jojoba, almond, olive), 5-10 drops of essential oil. We would recommend peppermint and lavender essential oils. Additionally, you can add food colour (1-2 drops) to give your DIY foot scrub a hint of colour. Sugar helps in getting rid of dead skin cells while mint lets your feet cool down and also acts as a natural deodorant. Store this foot odour remedy in an airtight container and use it thrice weekly to gently exfoliate your feet. Refrain from foot scrubs if you suffer from eczema, sores or broken skin.
8. Listerine Foot Soak
Still confused on how to get rid of smelly feet? Listerine is popularly known to be used as a mouth wash for cavities and fresh breathe but it has all the needed active ingredients to kill bacteria and fungus. Hence it proves to be a perfect solution to cure foot odour. Add half a cup of Listerine to half a cup of water. Dilute this solution to a tub of water and soak your feet in it for 20- 30 minutes. Dab it dry and you are ready to wear your shoes! Following this, every day will eventually put an end to smelly feet.
Tips On How To Get Rid Of Foot Odour
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Although the above-mentioned home remedies for smelly feet will help you stay away from smelly feet, for prolonged results, you must follow these tips on how to get rid of sweaty feet.
- A change in your diet is essential. Try to cut down food rich in refined carbs, high in sulphur and protein as these contain certain compounds that when broken down in your body will lead to more sweat. This will lead to more foot and body odour.
- Opt for food that is rich in zinc and herbs. This will help in flushing out toxins and decreases foot odour.
- Keep your foot clean by washing daily with an antibacterial soap. Ensure to dab it dry every time you wash it.
- Have two pairs of shoes. If you have used one today, keep it aside for the next 24 hours to let it breathe some fresh air while you use the other pair of shoes.
- Use cotton socks rather than polyester or any other material. This will let your foot to breathe easily refraining from sweat. Ensure to wash your socks regularly.
- Change, wash or deodorize the soles of your shoes if they are removable and replaceable.
- Use an antibiotic ointment on your feet before going to bed if required, only after consulting your physician.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can stress cause smelly feet?
Yes. If your excessive sweating is a result of stress, then there are chances are that it will smell. Sweat that is stress-induced comes from a totally different sweat gland. As the sweat triggered out of stress has a variation in its compounds, it begins to smell bad.
2. Why do my feet stink badly?
Smelly feet don’t occur due to excessive sweating. Sweat that comes as a result of high body temperature does not have an odour. It is the bacteria that feasts on your sweat that cause your smelly feet.
3. What medical conditions are likely to cause smelly feet?
Smelly feet needn’t necessarily be due to bad hygiene. It can also rise due to diabetes, diseases related to kidney and lungs, thyroid or might occur due to genetics.
4. Do my feet smell due to hard skin?
Not exactly. Your feet produce a cheesy stinky smell due to the bacteria that stays on your foot when you wear shoes for prolonged hours.
5. What are the best foot deodorants that are available in the market?
Some of the foot deodorants include –
- Dot & Key Foot Cream : Deodorizer + Moisturizer (Lavender & Peppermint)
- Shoo! Foot deodorant
- O3+ Pedilogix
6. When should I visit a doctor in such cases of smelly feet?
Try the above-mentioned smelly feet remedies to get rid of foot odour. If nothing seems to work, then its time to meet your doctor to identify the problem.
7. How do I fix my smelly shoes?
Shoes smell due to the sweat from your foot. You can follow some smelly feet remedies like spray some vinegar on the soles of your shoes to neutralize the odour or spritz some baking soda into your shoes and leave it there overnight. Both these methods will kill the bacteria and get rid of the smell.
So what are you waiting for? Start pampering your feet right away!
Read More –
How To Get Rid Of Smelly Feet in Hindi
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