Stinky Feet
By dorannmwin
@dorannmwin (36392)
United States
March 5, 2013 5:54pm CST
Paul has some of the stinkiest feet that I've ever encountered in my life. I mean there are times that the smell of his feet in the car is almost enough to make me partially sick to my stomach. However, I just deal with it because he is my son and I know that he inherited his stinky feet from his father and myself as both of us dealt with excessively sweaty feet when we were little.
It is getting to be a little bit too much now as we've been having him use powder in his socks and still his feet stink to the point that the school is calling me asking about his hygiene. He takes a shower almost every night and does wash his feet, but I can't seem to think of anything to do about his shoes. I thought about getting the odor blocking insoles, but his feet are still too small for those. The powder in the shoes doesn't seem to be making a difference. I'm definitely at a loss.
I would love to see any suggestions that my fellow mylotters might be offer for the problems that Paul has been having with his stinky feet. We are going to be going tonight or tomorrow and get him a brand new pair of shoes so that we are at least going to be able to start over again.
2 people like this
10 responses
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
6 Mar 13
My daughter went through that and was told she shouldn't wear the same shoes everyday. I had a sun porch and I would put one pair out there and the direct sunlight help bake the smell out of them. So she would switch off wearing her shoes every other day.
If it wasn't a sunny day, I'd put them in the dryer for 1/2 hour. It's something to do with the heat.
Had to wash her sneakers often too (once a week) and would to it with a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda. Vinegar helps kill the bacteria from her sweating feet and baking soda helped washout the smell of them.
I hope this works for you.
1 person likes this
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
7 Mar 13
Powders in the shoes was mentioned, but it didn't work for her. It only would cake up and then it was so hard to get that junk out of her shoes. All it did was mask it instead of getting it out of the insole.
One thing forgot to say is the baking soda didn't work for me when had hard water, it's a dream now that have soft water but when I had hard water it wouldn't disolve right so mixed it up in a cup first then poured into the washer. If I didn't do this it wouldn't work.
When washing socks, turn them all inside out. That gets them cleaner on the inside that's sucking up all the sweat. Note the outside won't be a wonderful shade of white but it's the smell we're after anyway right.
I still feel bad today. It wasn't her fault for her feet being that way. It was a puberty thing. All my kids went through that 'stinky' stage, it's just their bodies changing, but even in their clothes the white vinegar/soda worked.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
8 Mar 13
I feel really bad for Paul because I know that it is something that has been embarrassing to him and he isn't going through puberty yet. That said, I did get him a new pair of shoes yesterday and I sprinkled the baking soda in the shoes today before he had a chance to wear them and then today after he took them off. He had even gone outside and played in the snow so the shoes and socks were soaked, but there was no odor at all. I am a happy mommy so far.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
7 Mar 13
I've done the washing of the tennis shoes on a really regular basis. And though it seems to help, it isn't perfect. That said, it has only been in this discussion that I've heard about the vinegar thing so that is something that I am willing to try.
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
6 Mar 13
well you may want to try to buy a few pair and the reason is the odors get inside and wont leave to easy try to buy the kind you can wash in laundry and change the shoes daily you could try a little baking soda as a foot powder as i know it good for cat boxes so why not our feet try to stay away from dark color socks they hold in heat and make us sweat hope this has helped a little
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
7 Mar 13
I am not at all opposed to the idea of a couple different pairs of shoes that he can alternate as long as I'm able to find the shoes for a decent price. I won't go and buy two pairs of $50 shoes that he is only going to outgrow in the next six weeks or so. He is going through a growing spurt right now.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
6 Mar 13
cut the insoles to fit his feet, sock his feet in bicarbonate of soda, or wash them with lemon and vinegar
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
Yeah, I know the white socks thing. This has actually been a battle for us because of the dress code that the school has, their shoes and their socks are pretty much the only way that a child can express their individuality.
I am planning on going to the store this evening after Tom gets home and I'm going to get some baking soda that I can sprinkle in his shoes and I'll be getting him a new pair of shoes as well.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
6 Mar 13
Make him alternate days with his shoes, foot powder, have him take them off when he doesn't have to wear them, not sure what else...
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
That is one of the things that I've thought about doing is alternating days with his shoes. Now when we are at home, my children are always running around barefoot so I really can't make any changes when it comes to being at home.
@Pegasus72 (1898)
•
7 Apr 13
First of all you need to treat his feet with antibacterial soap then dry well, throw out all of his shoes and he needs to change his shoes every day, which means not wearing the same ones day after day. Also you need to check with the Dr. if he might have athletes foot, which would require all of the above as well as medicine to get rid of it.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
8 Apr 13
We've changed his shoes and we are treating them with baking soda every day and that is definitely something that is making a huge difference. It's been a month now and I can actually still put my nose to his shoes and sniff without making my stomach turn.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
9 Apr 13
That is something that I am planning on talking to the doctor about because of the fact that there are medical treatments that can be used. However, I can't go right now since he just had a physical a few months ago for school.
@Pegasus72 (1898)
•
9 Apr 13
I am glad you found something that worked, just make sure the next time he goes in for a physical, if he does that anyways, that he has the Dr. take a look at his feet just in case.
@Afunnyman (55)
• Philippines
6 Mar 13
That is a matter of good hygiene. That awful smel is caused by fungus which is attracted to sweat. Tell him to wash his feet frequently and apply anti-fungal foot powder. Proper hygiene is the only remedy for that. Also, disinfecting his socks can help.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
He does bathe on a daily basis, so I know it isn't because he isn't bathing. I am going to try to use some odor blockers like baking soda in his shoes and I'm also going to see if I can get some of the antifungal insoles that will be able to be cut down to the size of his feet.
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
7 Oct 15
I have heard that using green apple shampoo helps reduce the odor of various parts of us.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I haven't tried it yet, but that is a suggestion that my mother gave so it is something that I'm planning on picking up this evening after Tom gets home from work.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I wish that this would be something that would be an option for us. However, the school that my children attend does have a pretty strict dress code so it wouldn't be something that would be allowed for him.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Mar 13
My ex was the same. The dr. once said some men are that way. My ex took a shower 2 times a day. Still had bad smelling feet. it was something in hid geans as they say. Might be same with Paul.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Mar 13
I definitely would imagine that it is something that is genetic because of the fact that both Tom and I had stinky feet when we were younger as well. In fact, Kathryn did too but for her that doesn't seem to be something that is really a problem for her any more.
