Have you ever stopped to consider why your feet smell bad, even during the colder winter months? While many people think excessive sweating or odor is something you only have to deal with in the warmer summer months, several things can cause smelly feet during winter. Today, Dr. Hubert Lee at CarePlus Foot & Ankle Specialists in Bellevue, WA is sharing five causes and cures for sweaty feet.
What’s Causing Your Sweaty Winter Feet?
- Your footwear. During the winter months, you normally wear warm boots or other non-breathing footwear. When your feet are confined to an enclosed area, bacteria tend to thrive, and the feet can’t air out.
- A shift in the weather. Any type of change in weather can generate excessive sweating. The process is called autonomic regulation and it happens when your body works overtime to tolerate these changes.
- Layering thicker socks. Wearing several pairs of socks can keep your feet warm and toasty, but it also locks in the sweat, causing foot odor. And wearing multiple pairs of socks can cause pressure and friction and cause corns or calluses.
- Temperature variations. When you return indoors after walking in the cold, wet snow – makes your feet work harder to regulate temperature and cause them to perspire.
- Dry, cracked skin. The air is drier during the winter months, and this makes our skin dry out more quickly, and the dead skin delivers food for the bacteria. This can cause smelly feet.
How Can You Cure Your Sweaty Feet
There are easy things you can do to avoid foot odor this winter:
- Wear socks that will wick away moisture, neutralize odors, and keep your feet cool.
- To avoid overheating, take off your boots as soon as you return indoors.
- If your footwear gets wet, change into a dry pair because moistness creates bacteria.
- Exfoliate feet with a loofah, pumice stone, or dry brush to remove dead skin cells and keep your feet clean and odor-free.
- Wear footwear that can breathe to allow your feet to air out.
You don’t have to deal with sweaty feet this winter! Follow these tips and you can enjoy warm, toasty feet that don’t stink or sweat. If you find that your feet are still sweating, call the office of Dr. Hubert Lee at CarePlus Foot & Ankle Specialists in Bellevue, WA, (425) 455-0936 to schedule an appointment today.
