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You have had a hard day at the office and now that you are home you can take your shoes off and relax. When you do take your shoes off though, you get a bad smell. The nasty odor that you are getting is from your feet, your still sock encased feet. This is a case of smelly feet.

Smelly feet are unfortunately a part of our lives. As we spend almost our entire day wearing shoes and socks our feet don't get a chance to air out and breathe. This lack of being able to breathe means that our feet become damp and bacteria starts to grow in this condition.

The bacteria that causes our smelly feet produces an acid called Isovaleric acid. It is this acid which is responsible for the bad odor. The bacteria acts on the sock enclose feet which have become sweaty. The sweat in turn acts as an agent for the bacteria to breed and the accumulation of Isovaleric acidic bacteria is why we get smelly feet.

There are also other reasons why we can get smelly feet besides wearing socks and shoes. The reasons are sweaty feet or hyperhidrosis, lots of stress due to our hectic lives, various types of drugs and hormonal changes in our bodies. Any of these reasons or even all of them will produce the bacteria acid which creates smelly feet.

Luckily we have the means of controlling this problem and altogether eliminating smelly feet from our lives. The control measures are: make sure that your feet are clean by bathing them in lukewarm water with a mild soap and dry the feet thoroughly, especially between the toes. Change your socks at least once a day. Dry your feet and dust some powder on them. Remember to wipe between your toes to remove the excess moisture, so that the powder doesn't build up between the toes.

Also wearing thick, soft socks will help to absorb the sweat. Socks made from natural fibers like wool, cotton and other materials that are absorbent have the ability to let the feet breathe better. You should try to avoid wearing nylon socks or plastic shoes as these can lead the build up of bacteria and the result is smelly feet. Instead you might want to try shoes that are made of leather, canvas, mesh or other types of materials that will let your feet breathe.

One of the best things that you can do to prevent smelly feet is to avoid wearing the same pair of shoes two days in a row. When the shoes become damp with sweat they need time to dry out. To help with this drying out process you can also remove the innersoles of the shoes. While smelly feet are an embarrassing problem they are treatable and the measures can be carried out by you every day without any difficulties.