How bad do your feet stink???

[brewer427]

I was just going to throw this up on the forum and see if anybody else has problems with stinky feet while hunting or scouting. Now I'm not talking about some one simply saying "man your feet stink" and then the topic is dropped. I'm talking about after a day of scouting, swapping your socks at lunch and letting your feet dry out, needing to put both pairs from that day in a plastic bag and burying them in the dirt until you leave cause they stink so bad.
Does anyone else have this problem, and any suggestions to alleviate the stench...

 

[SHTF]

Bad smells from feet after only one day usually mean you have some sort of fungal infection or Bacteria. Ive been in my boots for 7 days straight same socks (Darn Tough Socks) and still my feet didnt smell that bad.

Body odor is the byproduct of bacteria on your skin digesting the sweat produced by apocrine glands. But there are no apocrine glands on your feet.

Eccrine glands, on the other hand, are located in the skin all over your body, including your feet. This sweat is intended to cool you down. On its own, the sweat produced by the eccrine glands on the soles of your feet is pretty much just water and salt, and really doesn't have any odor at all.

It's bacteria that's the real culprit behind foot odor; well, that and whether or not you wear socks.


To cure it.... First Id get with a doctor make sure you dont have anything else going on with your feet fungal wise. If not then you can use sanitizer to clean your feet. Id start with Exfoliating them big time. You can get kits that will take off dry skin where the bacteria lives then once your down to your good skin use a alcohol sanitizer for the next few days to kill off the bacteria. If you suffer from cracking or dry feet be careful with this remedy as it can definitely cause some discomfort. Last is keep lotion on your feet to keep them from drying out. and a once a week foot soak in a hot foot bath is also good.

Ive dealt with feet problems all my life.. had a few operations and even dealt with a few infections. So Im pretty big about keeping up on them. Definitely not the best subject Ive replied to on Rokslide but with my limited experience with dealing with jacked up feet this is what has worked for me in the past.

Should be noted if you go to the doctor and they find some sort of fungal infection they will prescribe you some great stuff to kill it off. Once that is gone then you can move on to the next steps to make sure you dont have recurrences of the issue by maintaining them.

This isnt always a hygiene thing. but more of a maintenance type deal.

 

[ssliger]

My feet stunk real bad using cheap wool, or cotton socks. Since I switched to merino wool, I have not had a problem.

 

[Shrek]

I'm with SHTF , I can go 4 or 5 days in my darn toughs in the Florida heat without them stinking bad. I'll have them develop a salt ring at the top from sweat and get a little stiff from dried sweat and still not de terrible. Check with your doctor.

 

[robby denning]

Had an uncle that could clear a tent of grown men even on the first day of the hunt. Clean freak, too. Just had that kind of body chemistry.

 

[orionsbrother]

My feet sweat all of the time. In cold weather, my stupidly long gorilla toes then get cold. I actually rub some antiperspirant on my feet to minimize that and that reduces boot stank too, but...

Did you cross through any swampy areas? On day four or five of a 2 1/2 week wilderness canoe trip, some swamp juice introduced bacteria into my boots that was nothing like anything I'd ever experienced. I tried washing them in the lake with some dish soap. I tried repeatedly pouring boiling water in them. Even with cedar sprigs stuffed inside. Nothing helped. I kept the boots at least 20 yards downwind of my tent so I could sleep. Think chicken that went bad and spent four days in a hot dumpster percolating.

In a last ditch effort at my buddy's after the trip, I put the boots in a five gallon bucket with a gallon of bleach and some water overnight then ran them through two cycles in an industrial washing machine. It didn't even put a dent in the stench. I tied them to the roof rack of the truck and threw them out in town because he didn't want them in his garbage.

If you aren't sporting epic foot funk regularly, you may have stumbled into some magic juice. Ditch the boots, burn the socks, move on.

 

[SHTF]

My feet sweat all of the time. In cold weather, my stupidly long gorilla toes then get cold. I actually rub some antiperspirant on my feet to minimize that and that reduces boot stank too, but...

Did you cross through any swampy areas? On day four or five of a 2 1/2 week wilderness canoe trip, some swamp juice introduced bacteria into my boots that was nothing like anything I'd ever experienced. I tried washing them in the lake with some dish soap. I tried repeatedly pouring boiling water in them. Even with cedar sprigs stuffed inside. Nothing helped. I kept the boots at least 20 yards downwind of my tent so I could sleep. Think chicken that went bad and spent four days in a hot dumpster percolating.

In a last ditch effort at my buddy's after the trip, I put the boots in a five gallon bucket with a gallon of bleach and some water overnight then ran them through two cycles in an industrial washing machine. It didn't even put a dent in the stench. I tied them to the roof rack of the truck and threw them out in town because he didn't want them in his garbage.

If you aren't sporting epic foot funk regularly, you may have stumbled into some magic juice. Ditch the boots, burn the socks, move on.

That was good stuff thanks for sharing man. haha

 

[orionsbrother]

SHTF - I really liked those boots too. It was kind of like when Old Yeller got all slobbery and snarly...

 

[SHTF]

You made my night with that story. Thanks

 

[Hunt'nFish]

Zinc powder for boots, rinse in anti-microbial for socks, and zinc tablets for me. No issues.
Hunt'nFish

 

[brewer427]

I went to the doctor a few months back, because I thought I maybe had a fungus of some kind, but he found nothing. He told me to use odor eaters foot spray and to frequently changed socks, that was it. I always where merino wool socks to. So I don't know.

 

[brewer427]

Zinc powder for boots, rinse in anti-microbial for socks, and zinc tablets for me. No issues.
Hunt'nFish

I will deffanently give this a shot.

Thanks

 

[IrishnId]

I'll be doing the full treatment at the beginning of this thread. I neglect the heck out of my feet. They're always stuck in steel toe work boots and often get funky.