The reason behind stinking feet is sweat. Human feet have high density of sweat glands and secrets considerable amount of sweat each day. However, it is not the sweat itself that give the foul smell to the feet; it is the bacteria in our skin that feed on this sweat and excretes waste that makes feet stink. So, the more feet sweat, the more is the chance of giving out foul odor. And since the bacteria find it most conducive to breed in damp moist areas, feet wearing shoes become an ideal place for them to attack. Therefore, if you wear shoes for a long time each day, you will have more chance of getting stinky feet. Also, shoes that do not have proper ventilation, or improper socks (which have more nylon and less cotton) can make it hard for your feet to dry up the sweat and consequently make your feet more foul-smelling.
The good thing, however, is that foot odor can be remedied with better foot care routine and maintaining proper hygiene. Since the two main causes of feet odor are sweating and bacteria, you will have to take measures to tackle both of them – reduce sweating of your feet and fight the bacteria. To reduce sweating of feet you will have to choose footwear that does not make your feet feel too suffocated. If possible, buy shoes that provide some amount of ventilation to the feet. It is equally important to buy good socks too, preferably made of cotton, which has better ability to soak the sweat from your feet. It is necessary that you keep multiple pairs of shoes and socks with you so that you do not wear them repeatedly every day. Change your socks everyday and your shoes, maybe, in every 2-3 days. You can also apply some anti-perspirant on your feet before wearing shoes.
To fight the bacteria you will have to give special care to hygiene of the feet. Wash your feet every day with anti-bacterial soap after you have removed your shoes. You can also bathe your feet in lukewarm saline water for some time every day and then wipe them clean completely. Wiping your feet with cotton balls dipped in surgical spirit may also be helpful. Sometimes, the effect of bacteria may be serious and can even corrode some parts of skin leading to further foul smell of the feet. In such cases, you might need to take special medical advice and take antibiotics to heal the affected areas.
