Foot Odor Causes

Foot Odor Causes Your Dog To Faint

Food odor causes your dog to faint. Do you have a pet dog, or know anyone who does? Have you noticed when this creature is sniffing your feet, only to turn its head away in complete disgust with a concerned look etched into its face? Humans have about 5 million olfactory receptors. The average dog can have over 125 to 250 million of these olfactory receptors, and their sense of smell can be 100,000 times better than that of an average human.

Imagine, when you take your feet off after work, and you notice an unpleasant smell coming from your feet, how a dog might feel! Clearly it is a problem, at the least for your householders and a matter of personal hygiene and better living conditions. Who doesn’t want to smell fresh, well … now you can do something about it.

It often isn’t talked about, a taboo. Yet paradoxically, many people are affected by it. Multitudes of people do not explore what causes foot odor, mitigating their chances of having cleaner and fresher feet, and being able to carry on activities such as sports and even taking the shoes off at home without a snide remark, crinkled noses, and your pet dog is playing dead, attacking your shoes or worse.

Your feet may smell of cheese. Indeed the very same bacterium responsible for the smell of many cheeses is also responsible for how your feet smell.  This problem is persistent in many people, and lives with them shoe after shoe. It often turns heads, and for all the wrong reasons.

How about looking at the problem and taking measures to tackle it so that you no longer leave yourself in compromising positions?

The usual cause of foot odor is excessive sweating. When you sweat more, it can cause your feet to smell worse. This is because there are bacteria living on the surface of your skin, including your feet. Your feet also have special sweat glands called apocrine glands which secrete fatty substances along with sweat, which these bacteria feed on, causing them to multiply. They then break down these fatty acid molecules into something which is pungent smelling.

There are many reasons for excessive sweating, including keeping your feet contained, using old footwear, not changing your socks, using the wrong types of sock fabric, hot and humid weather, medical conditions affecting the nervous system, genetic reasons and many others.

Anxiety can also lead to excessive sweating, as it stimulates your nervous system into cooling down whilst bracing itself to flee or to fight, the body’s instinctive mechanism for survival. If feet are kept in such conditions for prolonged lengths of time, infections can develop, such as athlete’s foot, toenail fungus and others. These can manifest as problems in themselves. Not only is it the case that foot odor causes a room clear-out, but it is an indication that something needs to be done about this obvious problem.

Foot odor needs to be prevented where possible, or treated then managed. Most methods to reduce foot odor are behavioral – something you need to do in changing your routine. For instance, you can wash your feet with antibacterial soap, every day and then making sure to remove all dead skill cells with a pumice stone or by scrubbing hard with an exfoliant. It is possible to moisturize your feet in order to keep dead skin cells to a minimum by keeping healthy skin sufficiently soft. After washing yourself, make sure you dry between your toes – often this area and the heel is a breeding ground for bacteria, as they tend to like confined spaces.

Make sure you change your socks on a regular basis, and that they are washed thoroughly. Your shoes can be left to dry out for a day or two between wearing, so perhaps you want to keep more than one pair, in order to do this and yet have a pair of odorless shoes handy. Using talcum powder or a specialized commercial foot powder is beneficial – these absorb moisture and help to keep your feet fresh and dry.

Baking soda can be used instead of talcum powder as a more effective option, though many people find it uncomfortable because of its gritty texture. However, due to its alkaline nature it alters the pH on the surface of the skin and renders it difficult for bacteria to multiply.

Antiperspirant can also be used on your feet, but be warned that your feet will likely get very hot. Antiperspirants which contain Aluminum Chlorohydrate are very effective, though potentially a health hazard with the levels of aluminum which enters your body.

Over the counter remedies from your local drugstore include Benzoyl Peroxide, often used for acne treatment – these work by inhibiting bacterial growth.

Foot odor causes embarrassment and social stigma but there are many simple things you can do to prevent it from being a problem.