Your feet contain a surprisingly large number of sweat glands and all that moisture combined with the dark, warm environment inside your shoes gives microbes that cause foot odor a happy home. Controlling moisture and combating microbes with sprays and powders will help keep the odor from conditions like Athlete’s foot at bay.

Some of the causes of smelly feet include the following:

• Excessive sweating from your feet (hyperhidrosis)—Extreme sweating can be caused by a condition called hyperhidrosis. It often shows up under the arms, on the palms, and the bottoms of the feet. The added moisture gives microbes more fuel and the resultant odor will be harder to control.
• Bacterial and fungal skin conditions—The excessive production of sweat glands is only the precursor to a stinky outcome as the bacteria or fungi consume your sweat for food, often creating bad smells in the process. Let shoes air out after each wearing and spray them with antimicrobial products to keep infections under control.
• Fungal toenail infections—The fungi that cause athlete’s foot can get underneath your toenails and create havoc. The infection spreads slowly at first but will eventually lead to grey and crumbling toenails with the added emission of a funky odor.

See your foot doctor for persistent foot odor issues since it may be caused by an underlying condition. You can count on the foot doctors at Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC to provide fast relief for your aching feet using a full range of both conservative and surgical therapies.

Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serves patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies including onsite digital x-ray, ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics. For any questions or to make an appointment, please contact us at one of our Southeast Michigan facilities in Monroe (734-241-0200) and Lambertville (734-856-8900) (Bedford and Monroe counties). We also offer convenient house calls Monday through Thursday, so give us a call!