Why do my feet sweat?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 2% of people on Earth suffer from excessive sweating of the feet, or, in other words, hyperhidrosis. This is only according to official data. And if you follow the data of unofficial statistics, this number can be safely multiplied by 10 or even 20 times. In Great Britain and Sweden, where medicine is well developed and the standard of living is very high, treatment of hyperhidrosis (by the way, very expensive!) is covered by health insurance. And did you think that the unbearable sweating of your office neighbor's feet is evidence that he rarely washes? Everything is much more complicated...

Are sweat glands to blame?

Sweat glands are actually designed to regulate the temperature of the entire body. When we get too hot, the body regulates body temperature by secreting sweat and moisturizing the skin. But sometimes it happens that the sweat glands go crazy and secrete so much sweat that it is impossible to be near the person.

Different areas of the body may be particularly sweaty. Most often, these are the armpits and feet. And then the person has no personal life, no social life - and it is very difficult to do anything about it, even for a lot of money. What is the reason for increased sweating of the feet - a source of suffering for both women and men?

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Hyperhidrosis is the body's signal of illness

If a person has excessive sweating of the feet, it is not just an unpleasant smell and a lot of moisture on the feet. It can be a signal of many diseases. Namely:

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Fungus on the skin of the feet

This condition affects the feet after a fungal infection. The skin between the toes becomes very inflamed, may crack, itch, hurt and smell bad due to dead cells that have decomposed. If the fungus is ignored and treated at home without seeing a doctor, it can spread to large areas of the body.

When this disease becomes acute and chronic, it becomes difficult to cope with. The fungus develops into eczema - a microbial disease that affects areas of the skin with inflammation, peeling, cracks, itching and pain. It is much more difficult to cure microbial eczema than foot fungus. And, of course, the unpleasant odor only gets worse, without going away.

What to do?

It is necessary to consult a dermatologist to treat the fungus. For this purpose, antifungal ointments with an anti-inflammatory effect and antibiotics are used.

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Endocrine diseases

When a person's hormonal background is disturbed, he or she may suffer from endocrine disorders. In particular, the thyroid gland produces too much or too many thyroid hormones, and then the body may have various kinds of deviations. Including increased sweating of the feet, or hyperhidrosis.

What to do?

See an endocrinologist for an examination. Once you know which hormones you lack and which ones you have in excess, you need to undergo hormonal therapy. Once you have completed the required course, without skipping anything and following all the doctor's recommendations, the sweaty feet you suffered from may go away on their own.

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Malignant tumors

Malignant tumors can trigger processes in the human body that cause it to suffer from many disorders. Including increased or decreased appetite, increased sweating, uncontrolled weight. Increased sweating of the feet, as you can see, is on the list of these unpleasant deviations.

Sweat is a substance that consists of 99 percent water. But sweat contains so many different toxic substances, nitrogen compounds, "bad" cholesterol, fatty acids that a person simply suffocates from their smell. If there are abnormalities in the body, if it is loaded with toxins, if there are metastases, which contain many different toxic compounds, sweat "screams" about all this. Screams with its smell.

Toxins and acids in sweat decompose, their reaction with oxygen adds an unpleasant smell - then we simply feel the stench and cannot be near its source - the owner of sweaty feet. And how he (or she) suffers...

What to do?

If your feet smell bad, it may be caused by cancerous tumors. You should definitely go and see a doctor. You should also do an ultrasound of your internal organs. If you have tumors, you will need to be treated seriously by an oncologist.

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Too tight shoes made of artificial leather

When choosing shoes, you should not save on them. Because shoes made of artificial leather do not allow a person's foot to breathe normally. As a result, the foot sweats a lot and has an unpleasant odor. In the environment where the foot is all day long, and where there is no freely circulating air for it, stagnation occurs.

This is the most favorable environment for the reproduction of harmful microorganisms. And since sweat itself is toxic, in combination with fungi and pathogenic bacteria it smells even worse, irritating others and the owner (mistress).

What to do?

The best thing to do is to change your shoes. And preferably not only your shoes, but also your socks. Shoes should be made of breathable fabric or good leather. And socks should be made of natural materials - cotton or linen. These materials absorb moisture well and do not allow the fungus to multiply. If your feet sweat excessively, you need to be ready to change your socks more often and your shoes, if necessary. Of course, this will significantly increase your expenses, but what can you do - hyperhidrosis is no joke.

What other reasons could there be for excessive sweating of the feet?

• Poor hygiene
• Diseases of the central nervous system
• Severe stress, constant anxiety, irritability
• CNS (central nervous system) pathologies

People who suffer from excessive sweating of the feet should know that men and women sweat equally strongly. Therefore, you should not tolerate such manifestations - you must definitely consult a doctor at the first signs of hyperhidrosis - much more serious diseases may be hidden behind it.

How to properly care for your feet

Feet sweat a lot if they are not properly cared for. This question can baffle a modern person: what does it mean to do it correctly? Take a shower before going to bed, take a shower in the morning – that’s all the care you need. It turns out that there are several important secrets to foot care. We will introduce you to them.

Even if your hot water is turned off for two weeks, as often happens during preventive maintenance, wash your feet with cool water. This is even better, as it helps to harden your feet well.

When you wash your feet, it is advisable not to use soap often. This dries out the delicate skin of your feet. It is advisable to use special foot foams. Their composition allows you to be more gentle with the skin of your feet and not to dry it out, but, on the contrary, to moisturize it.

Regarding moisturizing. You can't let your feet stay wet, because then the skin is prone to accepting various fungi and bacteria - they have the bad property of quickly multiplying in a humid environment. You need to stock up on towels that absorb moisture well, and dry your feet with them after each bath.

Secrets of dry skin on feet

To prevent your feet from sweating so intensely and to keep them dry for a long time, you can treat them with talc. This is usually done in the morning, after a morning shower and drying them very dry (we have already talked about this).

Keep in mind that talc should be applied between the toes and on the soles of the feet. You can also use a deodorant or antiperspirant with an antifungal effect (these can be sold in pharmacies). It is very important to know that antiperspirants should only be applied to the body, cleanly washed. Otherwise, you will have to smell the smell of your feet, which will not disappear, but only intensify.

Deodorant and antiperspirant – what are the fundamental differences?

What is a deodorant? It is a substance of chemical origin that has the property of delaying the decomposition of foul-smelling substances in sweat. Deodorant does this due to the aromatic substances that are in its composition. These are antimicrobial agents, as well as fragrances, plus essential oils that smell very good and hold this smell for a long time.

Among these oils there may be those that have the property of delaying unpleasant odors - mint, lavender, cloves. To make the odors in the deodorant last, ethyl alcohol is used in it. This ingredient is present in almost all essential oils. To put it briefly and precisely - the deodorant is designed to mask the nasty odors of our body.

What is an antiperspirant? It is a substance that, due to its composition, has the property of accumulating sweat vapors like a sponge and holding back heavy sweating. Antiperspirants contain metal salts, in particular, lead, zinc, zirconium. They have a unique property when combined with sweat toxins to suppress their smell.

This is done by narrowing the pores, through which sweat simply cannot get through. And therefore, there is no unpleasant odor. It cannot be said that this is very useful for the human body, which, due to the narrowing of the pores, loses the ability to cleanse itself of toxins.

There is a small percentage of patients who have been diagnosed with cancer due to frequent use of antiperspirants. However, the fact of the connection between cancer and the use of antiperspirants has not been proven, so with increased sweating, occasional use of antiperspirants may do more good than harm.

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Features of shoe selection

Of course, shoes should be made of leather, not some strange patent leather material that does not let in either moisture or air. When a person is in shoes that do not let in air, their feet sweat much more than usual. We already know what this leads to: an unpleasant odor and possible fungal diseases.

It is important to pay attention to the fact that the shoes are chosen according to the season. It is good if the summer shoes have more holes to allow airing of the feet. Then they will sweat less and dry out due to the constant flow of air. Sandals are optimal for women in the summer, and sandals for men. If etiquette requires business shoes, then the shoes should be light, made of breathable materials.

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Shoe cleaning and insoles

If a person does not clean the inside of their shoes, pathogenic bacteria will accumulate in them, even if the shoes are made of genuine leather.

Once the shoes are washed and cleaned, they need to be dried well. Well means in the open air to remove all unpleasant odors and avoid mustiness of the leather. If you put on shoes that are not dried enough, the unpleasant odor from the feet will mix with the excessively damp environment of the shoes, and in this environment microscopic processes of decay can begin.

To avoid this, you should replace the insoles in your shoes as they wear out. This will keep the skin on your feet healthy and help prevent excessive sweating.

Stockings and socks

Know that popular nylon socks and stockings contribute to the greater reproduction of bacteria, which love a damp and sweaty environment. Nylon does not absorb moisture, but on the contrary, retains it. Therefore, feet in nylon sweat even more. But was that your goal?

When sweating, the foot can very easily become infected with a fungus, which is just waiting for a favorable environment. When the fungus gets into such an environment, it happily mixes with sweat. And then the fungus grows, multiplies, and then comes the time for its decay. This is where the worst begins: the decay product of fungal cells mixes with toxins and acids, and this makes the smell of the feet even more terrible.

How to dry your feet properly? First of all, you need to remember about the spaces between the toes, which are so small that we don’t even pay attention to them when washing. But after washing, you need to stay for 2-3 minutes and still wipe dry these small areas of the body. Otherwise, moisture will accumulate in them, which will lead to the proliferation of bacteria and bad sweat odor.

Don't forget about these little foot care tricks, and over time, heavy sweat will leave your feet.