After your basketball game, you proceed to the locker room with your teammates, all of you gloating about how you crushed the other team. You sit down and start to remove your basketball shoes and socks, while animatedly chatting about how majestically you caught the rebound. Suddenly, the talking stopped and everyone freezes. They’ve got disgusted, grossed out expressions on their faces. Someone shouts “Something stinks!”.

He’s talking about your feet. Yuck.

Foot odor or smelly feet comes from a bacteria called brevibacteria, which feeds on foot perspiration and dead skin. It lives in dark, moist and warm places, making your sweaty feet inside closed, tight shoes the perfect breeding ground. Brevibacteria is usually active on the soles and between the toes. Many people, especially those who sweat a lot or those who don’t practice proper hygiene, experience this dilemma.

Having smelly feet is embarrassing and annoying, and if you don’t do something about it, it’ll haunt you all your life. It’s not hard to eliminate this dilemma, and you just need a few foot care reminders. Here are some ways to get rid of foot odor.

Wash Your Feet

The main reason why your feet has that funky, moldy stink is because of the bacteria that thrives in your perspiration. Make them go away by keeping your feet clean and bacteria-free. Make it a habit to wash your feet regularly, at least once a day. Scrub between the toes and under the soles, and use an antibacterial soap. Clipping and brushing the toe nails are helpful. When you’re done washing, wipe your feet dry thoroughly before wearing any footwear. If you’re wearing closed shoes, put a little baby powder to wick the sweat, before wearing socks.

Many people also use an antiperspirant after washing the feet. It’s the same product used for underarm sweat protection. Rub the stick against the feet, or if you’re using a spray, spray it all over. The product contains alum or zinc-oxide, which reacts with sweat electrolytes to create gel plugs, and block off sweat ducts. Make sure it’s antiperspirant, though, and not deodorant, because the latter just covers up the smell.

Check Your Shoes

Paying attention to the feet isn’t enough. You also have to mind the footwear you wear to eliminate the funky smell. Make sure you choose shoes that provide ample circulation and don’t fit too tightly. Canvas and leather shoes are great choices, because they let your feet to breathe. Stay away from plastic or rubber shoes if your feet sweat too much. Or better yet, invest in a few extra pairs instead of just wearing one. No matter how comfy or breathable it may be, if you use it too often, it’ll still cause foot odor.

You should also make it a habit to wash your shoes every now and then to remove bacteria that might have settled in them. If your shoes are washable, throw them in the washing machine or brush them with a detergent inside out. Let them dry thoroughly before wearing them again. Wearing still-wet footwear will only worsen your smelly dilemma. One effective way of drying shoes is by using a shoe dryer. To dry the inside, stuff the shoes with old newspapers and let them dry overnight.

Give Your Feet Some Air

Think about how often you keep your feet inside shoes: do you wear them all the time? If you’re always on the go, doing strenuous exercises or always traveling, chances are you wear footwear everyday. That means more sweat, more bacteria and a worse odor. To avoid this, take off your shoes when you don’t need them. If you’re just relaxing at home, go barefoot, and let your foot breathe. You should also opt for open footwear, like sandals or slippers. The more exposed your feet are, the less sweaty they become, meaning you get to stay away from odor problems.

Opt For Clean And Absorbent Socks

Some people have this nasty habit of reusing socks without putting them in the washer. They say that, since the socks aren’t filthy yet, they’re still good to wear. The problem is, you might not be seeing dirt, but the sweat the socks absorbed has already accumulated bacteria, leading to worse foot odor problems.

Make sure you wear clean and fresh socks all the time. Change them everyday, and every time you launder them, use antibacterial detergent. It’s also better to choose socks made from cotton or specially-designed synthetic fabric, because they absorb sweat better, reducing the smell your feet causes.

Soak And Rub

Washing and changing socks and shoes work great, but do you know you can also turn to soaking to relieve foot odor? Soaking your feet in natural solutions work well in lessening that foot odor dilemma. Here are some you can try.

• Green Tea You can use at least five bags of green tea to soak your feet in. The tannic acid in the tea dries out the skin, and the astringent properties help lessen foot perspiration and odor. Do this for 30 minutes a day for a whole week.
• Salt Put half a cup of kosher salt for every ¼ liter of water. Soak your feet in the solution. When you’re done, don’t rinse, but just dry thoroughly.
• Vinegar Add ½ cup of vinegar for every ¼ liter of water. You can also use 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar and add it to one quart of warm water. If your foot odor is sort of vinegary, then this won’t work for you. It makes skin more acidic. Another way of using vinegar is by mixing vinegar and isopropyl alcohol and rubbing it all over the feet. These two kills fungus and the alcohol eliminates bacteria.
• Sodium bicarbonate It stops bacterial growth by making the skin more alkaline. Add a tablespoon to every quart of water.
• Aluminum acetate It dries your feet. Buy Burow’s Solution or a packet of Domeboro powder at drugstores and mix in a pint of water. Soak your feet for 10 to 20 minutes.
• Bleach It kills bacteria, so it works great. Add an ounce to a gallon of warm water and soak for 5 to 10 minutes a day for a week. It’ll dry out your skin, so put some baby oil all over your feet after. You can also use bleach to clean and wash your socks too.

If you think these remedies still aren’t enough, then you can also rub your feet and toes with powders to wick off the unpleasant smell. Most sprays and foot powders contain these, using them to combat foot odor. You can use:

• Corn starch It’s sweat-absorbent.
• Baking soda It produces an alkaline environment that kills bacteria.
• Talcum powder It works as an astringent that dries out the feet.

Visit Your Podiatrist

You’ve tried all these tactics, but to no avail. Maybe your stinky problem has gotten out of control. In this case, you need to visit a podiatrist, a doctor who specializes in foot, lower leg and ankle care. The podiatrist will diagnose any foot problem you might have that’s causing the odor. He or she can also identify any biological source of infection or odor.

Nobody likes a smelly feet. Save yourself from the locker room embarrassment and try these tactics. Soon your feet will be fresh, clean and odorless and you can flaunt them whenever you like.