Possible Remedy For Sweaty Feet

[mlroseplant]

I have suffered from excessively sweaty feet for as long as I can remember. This is somewhat surprising, since I seem to have a pretty efficient radiator, and don't sweat much otherwise compared to most people. Luckily, I've never suffered from foul foot odor, but having constantly wet feet is an irritant, and I have found it difficult to wear shoes without socks without quite a bit of discomfort. This problem has come to a head now that my favorite footwear is closed-toed clogs worn without socks. Thus far, I've dealt with the problem by switching shoes often, and using my Peet Boot Dryer, which I've used for years for my work boots. It is a bit odd to see a pair of high heeled shoes on the boot dryer!

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch in my bare feet, doing nothing, and watching the beads of sweat form on the sides of my feet. This irritated me to no end, so I Googled "sweaty feet." That was a mistake. You can imagine what kind of fetish sites such a search brought up. A quick modification to "How to cure sweaty feet" proved much more useful, and evidently, I'm not the only person to suffer from this problem. There are any number of anti-perspirants designed for the feet (and hands), and there was information about surgery. Not really wanting to go the anti-perspirant route, and definitely not the surgical route, I moved down the list and came across this:

http://www.superfood...weaty-feet.html

Apparently, if you soak your feet (or your hands, if that's your problem) in black tea for 30 minutes a day for a week, the tannins in the tea do the same thing they would do in your mouth--dry them out. I thought I would try it, since it was by far the cheapest and easiest remedy I found, and the consequences of failure were nearly zero.

I have gotten through my week, plus a couple of days beyond with no treatment, and I must say the difference is remarkable. I can now wear my shoes without them becoming complete swamps. It's kind of nice. I do not really believe that I can do maintenance treatments monthly, as the article suggests, but I'm hoping for weekly.

I realize that your mileage may vary, and that every treatment doesn't work for everybody, but if you suffer from this problem, you might give this a try. At worst, you'll get a nice foot soak every day for a week. It does turn the edges of your toenails somewhat brown after a few days, but it doesn't last--you can scrub it off with some effort.

I will let you know how this treatment works for me long term, especially as the weather warms up.

[ilikekicks]

Good article. I plan on giving this a try.

[mlroseplant]

Now that we are well into summer, I'm going to say that the tea thing works, at least for me. I have enjoyed greatly reduced perspiration on my feet--at least until I stopped doing the treatments. I haven't done a treatment for a while, and I've really noticed in the past 2-3 weeks that my sweaty feet have returned to their old, irritating, uncomfortable selves, despite unseasonably cool weather the past two days. They're sitting in a tea bath as I write this. I'll try to do this weekly from now on. I will report my observations.

[dww]

I would have thought black tea would also stain your skin not just your toenails. I only have to take a look inside my tea mug and it goes brown very quickly, but if it works great.

[mlroseplant]

The every day bit for the first week does indeed stain your feet a little, but a soak in a water bath with a bit of lemon juice in it gets rid of the stain at the end of the week. With my job (construction electrician), the dirt that I'm constantly having to dig out of the corners of my toenails is way more noticeable than the tea stains in any case.

[krazykev64]

there is a simple cure.  wear open sandals in the warmer weather.

man made materials are the biggest culprit for causing sweaty feet.

feet need to breathe

[Guest]

My feet sweat a lot. I have to wear hose or socks to keep then sliding

[Steve63130]

A lot of our customers report that wearing thin nylon hose (tights, trouser socks, pantyhose, thigh highs, knee highs, etc.) allow the feet to be insulated from the shoe so that the moisture from the skin has someplace to migrate to without soaking the adjacent shoe material. Cotton is a natural fiber and absorbs moisture. It stays wet and clammy. Outdoorsmen avoid it like the plague because it can lead to hypothermia. Synthetic fibers like nylon and polypropylene don't absorb and hold moisture. Our customers report that their feet stay dryer and more comfortable. Foot odor, usually a result of dead and decaying bacteria, is much reduced, too, because bacteria need a humid environment to proliferate. A couple of years ago I developed a toenail fungus, which also thrives in humid environments. I started wearing sandals and the fungus went away, foot odor disappeared, and life is good again. Try nylon hosiery and see if you like it better than barefoot. Dry feet are happy feet. Check out www.activskin.com  [Full disclosure: it's my company and while I don't like to advertise here on this forum, if it helps guys here, it should be ok to mention it once.]

 

Steve

[krazykev64]

I have been wearing the mary janes in my avatar since the start of the month 9 days ago.  It is for a charity fundraising event I organised

I have worn them with thick sports socks, thin nylon womens socks and also bare foot. 

My feet are OK in the nylon ankle socks but feel a little warm in the sports socks.

When I go barefoot in them my feet get very sweaty and sticky.  I found the best cure is a little talc inside the shoe which keeps my feet dry and fresh smelling and also reduces any minor rubbing which could possibly cause blisters. 

As the shoes are made from a man made material the problem is even worse especially with a smooth hard insole. 

If I had been doing the challenge in the summer I would of obtained a pair of sandals or something similar to what DWW is wearing in his avatar.

Back in 2010 I walked in high heel sandals that had padded insoles made from pigskin and these were fantastic.  My feet never sweated at all.

When im not wearing heels my normal shoes are only made from leather, suede or cloth.  I hate man mad material as a rule.

Its also very rare that I wear any sort of foot garment and much prefer going bare feet regardless of the type of footwear.

My advice is if you suffer from sweaty feet is get a pair of high heel sandals for the warmer months preferably with a padded suede or pigskin insole.  The secret is to allow air to flow round your feet and toes.

The picture below is of my sandals that have the pigskin insoles