Seven Steps to Stop Sweaty Feet
Are you gellin? Is it because you have great insoles or because your socks are so soaked with sweat that they squish when you walk?
There are 250,000 sweat glands in each foot, producing half a pint of moisture per day. People with excess sweating, called hyperhidrosis, can sweat much more than that, leading to scaling, fungus infections, and overall sandal-unworthy feet.
If you have mild to moderate excess sweating:
- Wash your feet every day with antibacterial soap, such as an antibacterial hand soap. Then dry them completely, including between the toes (you know you don’t).
- Use a hairdryer on the cool setting to get your feet completely dry.
- Apply a foot powder (powder is better than corn starch, which tends to absorb the moisture, leaving a wet paste on your skin). Try Lamisil AT defense with tolfnaftate, an antifungal, if you have a tendency to get athlete’s foot, or try Dr. Scholl’s Deodorant Foot Powder with Zinoxol (zinc oxide and baking soda) if you have smelly, sweaty feet.
- Wear synthetic socks, instead of cotton. Synthetic socks wick moisture away instead of trapping it like a sponge. Try Adidas’ Clima Cool socks.
- Use a spray antiperspirant such as Gold Bond Maximum Strength Foot Spray. Your regular underarm antiperspirant will work as well, but the aluminum chloride concentration is much lower, so it is less effective.
If you have seriously sweaty feet or hyperhidrosis:
- See your physician. He or she can prescribe a prescription-strength antiperspirant (Drysol ®). After one week of applying Drysol nightly, most patients have a significant reduction in foot sweating. It can, however, be irritating and some people cannot tolerate using it every day.
- Botox®. Yup, Botox. When injected into your feet, it blocks the signal from the nerves that turn on your sweat glands, stopping sweating. The downside: getting stuck with little needles about a hundred times on the bottom of your feet. The upside: a marked reduction in sweating that lasts many months.
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Photo: Iuri Fernandes
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