- I'm Nick.
Welcome to All Our Questions,
where I search the internet for questions
we all want answers to,
and I answer them.
Today, I'm going to answer the question of
why your feet stink,
and I'm going to tell you what you can do to fix it,
just so you can take care of your funky feet,
or you could help somebody else who has funky feet.
And we're starting right now.
You're feet have about 250,000 sweat glands,
and those sweat glands produce
about one cup of sweat per day.
Disgusting, right?
But here's the thing.
Our body's have two type of sweat glands.
We have apocrine glands,
and we have eccrine glands.
Apocrine glands are usually found in places around hair.
For example, you would have them on your head,
in your armpits, in your pubic areas,
and anywhere else that you have hair.
These glands usually produce sweat in response to stresses.
When the bacteria on your skin digests this sweat,
it causes body odor.
But here's the thing,
You don't have apocrine glands on your feet.
Eccrine glands, however, are located all over your body,
including your feet,
but the sweat that comes
from the eccrine glands on your feet
is actually just salt and water really.
It doesn't have it's own nasty odor that you
associate with funky feet.
But, there is also bacteria down there.
These bacteria go by the names of
Staphylococcus Epidermidis.
It's a mouthful, right?
And Bacillus Subtilis.
These guys love hanging out in damp, warm environments
and eating the amino acids and leucine produced
by the eccrine glands on your feet.
When these bacteria eat the leucine,
they create their own byproduct called isovaleric acid.
This acid is what makes your feet stink.
But wait, there's more.
There's another bacteria hanging out down there,
and this one goes by the name of Brevibacterium.
And Brevi doesn't really care if your feet
are sweaty or not,
because Brevi likes to eat dead, dry skin cells
off your feet.
When Brevi's digesting your skin,
and odor is created as it converts
amino acids into methanethiol.
And the smell of methanethiol has been associated
with the smell of rotten eggs.
Yuck!
So, if that's what causes your feet to stink,
how do we fix it?
To start, you can use something a pumice stone
on your feet when you're in the shower.
If you're not familiar with what a pumice stone is,
basically you can think of it
kind of like a heavy grit sandpaper
that you rub on your feet while you're taking a shower,
and when you use this,
it basically just shreds off
all of the dead, dry skin cells on your feet.
You can get pumice stones at most Walmart-type stores,
you know, Walgreen's and things like that.
But I'll also put a link down in the description
to where you can find some on Amazon
if you just want to order some.
The reason that you want to use these
is because if you use a pumice stone on your feet
and you keep your feet moisturized,
you're basically cutting off the food supply
to the Brevibacteria.
Next, you're going to need a pair of shoes
that allow the air to circulate inside,
and you're also going to need a pair of clean socks
made out of cotton, hemp or wool.
As a side note, and a little bit of personal information,
I live in Thailand,
and it gets very hot and very humid here,
and because of that, sweat is a serious problem
that you have to deal with a lot.
My brother who,
somehow always seems to figure this stuff out before I do,
recommended to me that I pick up
a pair of Dri-Fit socks by Nike,
and I have to say I picked up one pair
and after I wore them for a day,
I went back and I got a big stack of Dri-Fit socks,
because these things are amazing for keeping your feet dry
and helping keep the smell out of your shoes.
And, of course, I'll put links
to everything I'm talking about
down in the description below
so that you can quickly and easily find
all the stuff that I'm talking about.
Another thing to make sure that you do is
when you take your shoes off when you get home,
don't put them in any kind of shoe box or
into a closet or anything like that.
Let them stay out in the open so they can air dry,
and that helps get all the moisture out of there,
which it makes it more difficult
for some of the bacteria to survive.
You can also soak your feet in tea, epsom salts,
baking soda, which creates an alkaline environment
that bacteria don't like.
Mix that with some essential oil like lavender,
which smells fantastic but also has
some antibacterial properties.
And then, once you have the baking powder
and a few drops of that lavender mixed up,
you can sprinkle it into your shoes and onto your feet,
and that's been known to help as well.
If you want to get really experimental,
sometimes it helps some people
if you take antiperspirant deodorant,
and instead of putting it in your armpits,
you put it on your feet.
And of course, like everything else,
technology in this situation
is going to be our secret weapon,
because, you know, shoe inserts and powders and sprays,
you know, all of that stuff can help if you have funky feet,
so it's definitely something that you need to look into.
Now, if you try all of this and your feet are still funky,
you might want to see a doctor, because they can prescribe
some prescription-grade antibacterial
and antiperspirant stuff
that might be able to help you out
a little bit more than the things
that you can get over the counter or natural remedies,
but that is why your feet stink and how to fix it.
If you have a question you want answered,
just use the #ASKAOQ down in the comments below,
and I'll see what I can do.
If you know somebody who has stinky feet,
make sure to share this video with them.
I'm sure they'll appreciate it.
Maybe after a few laughs,
but you know, they'll appreciate it.
And, of course, if you're not already subscribed,
make sure to hit the subscribe button somewhere on this page
so you can get more answers to all our questions.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you next time.