What to do if your feet are prone to sweating and foot odor

Many friends have sweaty and smelly feet. In fact, sweaty and smelly feet will not cause harm to our body, so many friends do not care much about the symptoms of sweaty and smelly feet. However, sweaty and smelly feet often make us very uncomfortable, and sweaty and smelly feet can make us very embarrassed in many occasions, so we should actively treat sweaty and smelly feet.

The formation of sweaty and smelly feet is related to many factors. For example, our feet will sweat and smell easily in a humid environment. In addition, hot and enclosed spaces and the growth of bacteria and mold will also cause sweaty and smelly feet.

The cause of foot odor is the combined effect of the following factors.

1. Humid environment: The soles of the feet are a sweaty environment. There are more than 600 sweat glands per square centimeter on the soles of the feet, which is 2 to 4 times more than other parts of the body. There are a total of more than 250,000 sweat glands that can secrete nearly 500 ml of sweat a day. In addition to water and salt, sweat also contains lactic acid.

and urea. When the moisture content is high, it is very conducive to the growth and reproduction of bacteria and mold.

2. Stuffy and enclosed space: When shoes are worn tightly and have poor ventilation, in addition to increasing moisture, the pH value on the skin surface will change from the original pH 4.4 to around pH 7, and carbon dioxide gas will be released. This environment is most suitable for the growth of certain bacteria on the soles of the feet.

3. Bacterial growth: The combined effect of the first and second factors causes the growth of bacteria on the foot skin. These bacteria can decompose the keratin in the skin and the urea and lactic acid components in the foot sweat to form various metabolites with odor, such as

(1) Brevi bacteria can decompose methionine, a component of keratin, to form methyl mercaptan, the smell of which is very similar to that of fermented cheese.

(2) The fat components in sebum are broken down by Staphylococcus aureus to form short-chain fatty acids.

(3) Urea in sweat is broken down into ammonia by bacteria.

When these smells are mixed together and tightly trapped in non-breathable socks, they will form unpleasant foot odor.

4. Fungal reproduction: A hot and humid environment will cause fungi to grow and form tinea pedis, commonly known as athlete's foot. The symptoms of athlete's foot are very diverse. Not all athlete's feet have a bad smell. The type of athlete's foot that is most likely to cause foot odor is the type where the skin between the toes is wet and rotten, and the foot odor is the most serious.

5. Excessively thick old keratin: Excessively thick old keratin, under the infiltration of sweat, will become a source of nutrition required by bacteria and mold, promote the proliferation and reproduction of bacteria and mold, and worsen the formation of foot odor.

Excessive sweating of hands and feet is medically known as "localized hyperhidrosis, which often occurs in young and middle-aged people with greater emotional fluctuations." The treatment of localized hyperhidrosis generally uses vitamin B1, oryzanol, diazepam tablets, etc. If you sweat a lot, you can take some anti-acetylcholine drugs such as atropine or propantheline. However, tranquilizers and anti-acetylcholine drugs have certain side effects and are not suitable for long-term use, so they are often used in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine treatment in clinical practice.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that excessive sweating of hands and feet is caused by spleen and stomach dysfunction, which can be divided into two types: deficiency and excess. People with weak spleen and stomach also have symptoms such as dry mouth, irritability, red tongue with little coating, etc., which are symptoms of deficiency-heat caused by insufficient body fluid. You can choose Zengye Decoction (20 grams each of raw rehmannia, Scrophularia, and Ophiopogon japonicus) with 15 grams each of jujube seed, oyster, dendrobium, and julibrissin flower for treatment. Spleen and stomach excess syndrome is mostly caused by excessive drinking and overeating spicy, fatty and sweet foods, accompanied by symptoms such as bad breath, bitter mouth, constipation, yellow and turbid urine, and thick and greasy tongue coating. You can choose Sanren Decoction (12 grams each of almond, white cardamom, Magnolia officinalis, Pinellia, bamboo leaf, and Tonghua, 30 grams each of coix seed and talc) with 15 grams each of Scutellaria baicalensis and radish seed for treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine also believes that excessive sweating in the perineum is closely related to the kidneys, and is divided into two types of symptoms: deficiency and excess. Patients with deficiency syndrome sweat in their dreams and feel sweaty under their crotch when they wake up. They can be treated with Zhibai Dihuang Pills. Those whose crotch is moist and wet all day long and the sweat increases when they move can be treated with Jinkui Shenqi Pills.

When treating localized hyperhidrosis, you should pay attention to maintaining a good mood, quit smoking and drinking, and eat less spicy and greasy foods. In addition, soaking the area in 5% alum solution every day, as well as soaking in water boiled with pine or eucalyptus leaves, have certain therapeutic effects.

Foot odor is caused by excessive sweating. In the case of poor ventilation, the feet become a breeding ground for bacteria, which will decompose the stratum corneum of the skin and release odor.

In the above, we introduced the impact of sweaty and smelly feet on us. Although sweaty and smelly feet will not cause harm to our body, sweaty and smelly feet will make us feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, so we must actively treat sweaty and smelly feet. The above article tells us what to do if our feet are sweaty and smelly.