There is such a "indescribable" taste: some people think it smells like rotten eggs, and others say it is stinky tofu with vinegar. (Does not mean to disparage stinky tofu)
You've probably smelled it in crowded elevators, subways in the evening rush hour, and shoes worn by someone in your family... That's right! This embarrassing suffocating smell is – foot odor!
Speaking of foot odor, a small partner of the company said that he was often "immersed in foot odor" at home: the shoes worn by her husband felt fermented... The smell was almost cracking.
Some men who are complained about foot odor are also very aggrieved, and even feel that women are obviously more likely to have smelly feet than men, and they stink even more!
Shocked, who is more likely to have foot odor? How does foot odor occur? How to alleviate, those online transmission "folk remedies" useful? Say it clearly at once!
Why do some people's feet emit an inexplicable odor, and some are particularly smelly?
In fact, the conditions that form foot odor are mainly these:
We have more than 250,000 sweat glands on our feet, making it easier to sweat.
The sweat secreted by these sweat glands every day accumulates and can basically fill a disposable cup of 240ml, but the sweat secreted by the human body itself is not smelly.
Sweat can be divided into two types: one is exocrine sweat secreted in order to reduce body temperature, which is produced in all parts of the body and has no taste.
The other is parietal perspiration, a special secretion that is mainly produced in the armpits, palms, soles of the feet, and groin.
It has no odor, but contains 0.8% fat and protein, which can be used as food for microorganisms.
The main microorganisms that cause foot odor are Short bacillus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, propionibacterium, of which Bacillus subtilis causes strong foot odor.
Originally, these bacteria were microorganisms that normally existed on the surface of the human body.
However, our sweat just provides nutrients and moisture for these fungi, and when combined in the enclosed space of shoes and socks, the fungus multiplies wildly.
In this way, the fungus will decompose the fats and proteins in the sweat, and metabolize odor-producing substances, such as low-grade fatty acids, carboxylic acids, amines, acetaldehyde, etc., which produce foot odor.
After the interview, it was found that the "stinky treasure" that everyone complained about foot odor was mostly men, but some people also countered that women are more likely to have bad feet.
In fact, from the perspective of causes, it has little to do with gender, and has a lot to do with individual lifestyles and habits.
For example, exercise leads to increased sweating, and if you do not change shoes and socks frequently or clean them thoroughly, the foot odor will be born.
In addition, some people may like to wear airtight socks such as stockings, and sweat is not easy to be absorbed, which is also easy to cause foot odor.
After all, foot odor is caused by a combination of factors, and when foot odor comes to the door, it can be regardless of gender.
There is also a "cousin" in foot odor, called beriberi. A word difference, the difference is actually very big.
Foot odor is mostly because the feet sweat a lot, under the action of microorganisms to produce odor, in addition to odor, there may be - at a loss for embarrassment!
Athlete's foot, also known medically as tinea pedis, is a superficial fungal disease that is highly covered and has about 20% of people worldwide.
First of all, people who have athlete's foot may not have bad feet.
However, patients with athlete's foot will have erythema, erosion, scales, blisters and other manifestations, and the course of the disease will be keratosis and chapped, and simple foot odor will not have these symptoms.
By the way, athlete's foot is not only very easy to recur, but also can be transmitted through contact, so we must avoid mixing shoes and socks. (Remember?) ）
Presumably, friends who have foot odor (and deep foot odor atmosphere) have also searched for some "folk remedies", but whether there is an effect or not, what the principle is, or have to figure it out.
We asked many of the company's small partners, and the most common "home remedy" we heard about to treat foot odor was white vinegar soaking feet.
It is true that acids have a bacteriostatic effect when they reach a certain concentration, but the acid concentration in the edible vinegar we use daily is very low, generally around 2%-7%, far from being able to disinfect.
Occasionally, in the film footage, we will see someone sterilizing with drinking wine, but it is not recommended when conditions permit.
Although alcohol is often called a good bactericidal substance, it must have a "degree", and the commonly used sterilization concentration of alcohol is 70%-80%. That is to say, soaking feet with wine to remove foot odor, this method can basically be abandoned.
There are stinky treasures who are "not willing to give up" who struggle to ask questions, what about high-concentration alcohol?
You know, high concentrations of alcohol irritation is very strong, although it can be sterilized, but the foot will be extremely uncomfortable, if there is a wound on the foot, ulceration, that feeling...
There are also people who want to mask the smell of their feet by spraying perfume, which will only produce a stranger mixed taste. So, let's leave our feet alone, it stinks, but it needs to be treated correctly.
If you want to treat foot odor scientifically, you still have to prescribe the right medicine, from the three aspects of bacteriostatic, sweatproof and breathable.
The first step in preventing foot odor is to wash your feet carefully! (Yes, you heard it right)
When many people take a bath, they don't pay much attention to foot cleaning, and only a little shower with water is solved.
At this time, there is still a lot of sweat, secretions and microorganisms on your feet, which breed in the old stratum corneum and nail dirt, and bacteria and fungi still grow wildly.
The correct foot washing posture is to scrub the foot at 360 degrees without dead angles, and cut the nails regularly to clean the dirt in the nail seams.
Then soak the feet with warm water to soften the stratum corneum, and then combine towels, brushes, soap and other tools to exfoliate.
The next step is to give the feet sweatproof, breathable, keep the feet dry, and the choice of socks and shoes is important.
Socks can help us suck the sweat out of our feet to a certain extent, but choosing the wrong material and structure is easy to smoulder.
It is recommended to choose a wool material with strong water absorption and breathability, and you can also choose five-finger socks to increase the contact area between the socks and the toes in a physical blocking way to reduce sweat accumulation.
Looking at the picture above, you may feel awkward about the left toe.
We have also considered this problem, but the company partner who bravely tried it on said that it was a bit unaccustomed to just wearing it, and the presence of ordinary socks was similar to that of ordinary socks after wearing it for a long time.
One thing may seem inconspicuous, but important: change your socks frequently and wash, disinfect and dry them every day.
When choosing shoes, it is recommended to match their own size and foot type, if the size is not appropriate, it will also cause local wear of the foot, causing some foot diseases and discomfort.
In terms of style, you can choose a breathable design, such as mesh sneakers, a pair of shoes worn for 2-3 days have to be worn with others.
If conditions permit, minimize the time when the feet are stuffed in the shoes and socks, destroying the growth environment of microorganisms.
The "stinky treasures" who want to taste and sweat immediately can theoretically use foot antiperspirant cream and anti-sweat powder, but due to the large movement of the feet and large friction, the actual effect needs to be examined, and it is prudent to choose.
If there is too much sweat on the feet, consider going to a regular hospital for examination and prescribing the right medicine.
Well, the above steps to prevent foot odor may seem simple, but they must be put into practice to be effective. Blindly try those "folk remedies", it is better to grasp the endogenous source, wash your feet well, and wear the right socks and shoes!
Finally, I wish everyone a pair of "not embarrassed" feet!
bibliography
Hong Fan. Clinical analysis of pathogenic bacteria with superficial fungal infection in 377 cases[D].Nanchang University, 2021.
DOI:10.27232/d.cnki.gnchu.2021.001090
[2] Ning Yawei, Hou Linlin, Yu Tongyue, Han Panpan, Fu Yunan, Li Mingrui, Wang Zhixin, Jia Yingmin. Detection and Identification of Phenyllactic Acid in Vinegar in China and Its Combined Bacteriostatic Effect with Acetic Acid[J].Food Science,2021,42(12):233-241.