Kiddo's STINKY Feet
My child is 7 and when he was around 2 we noticed his shoes get terribly stinky. I didn't know that could happen to kids! I had to throw away a pair of leather sandals that looked fine but were basically unusable. He gets a bath or feet washed every day. We keep his toenails trimmed. We have multiple pairs of shoes so they can completely dry between wearings. His socks seem to get really clean in the wash. Still, those feet reek! We eat pretty healthy and the rest of him doesn't smell bad. Also, although strong, it is just a normal foot smell. (My husband jokes this was inherited from him.) Is adult foot spray safe for longtime use by a growing kid? Are there brands of shoes that can be washed often without falling apart? Does a certain kind of sock help? Any info would be appreciated.
Parent Replies
My five year old daughter has had the same problem since she started wearing shoes. She now wears flip flops when the weather allows, and otherwise mainly Keen sandals (Newports I think). You can throw them in the washing machine (cold). We add baking salts to our laundry which I think helps. Dry them overnight with some newspaper scrunched up inside. They don't always dry perfectly overnight so we run two pairs at once, a size apart so it's not a huge expense. Because of the sandals' construction, she seems fine with a pair that is a little big. Hope that helps!
Sounds like Athlete's Foot! Kids can get it, and it is what makes feet and shoes and socks stink. It's a fungus and it can spread through the family via the shower, bathtub, floors, anyplace that is damp. Locker rooms and swimming pools are prime breeding grounds. Just get an over-the-counter antifungal spray or powder like Tinactin. I like the powder - sprinkle on clean feet at night, and put on a clean pair of socks. Same thing in the morning when he gets dressed. Sounds like your husband also has athlete's foot - you might be clearing up your son's athlete's foot and then he gets reinfected by the dad!
You have my sympathy! There are things inherited from our parents that we can't do anything about...ha ha. I am not gonna mince words about several topics in the rest of this message- so anyone who gets grossed out easily might want to stop reading (-: My husband has very oily skin, he always has, and although did not have acne as a teen, has always has a few pimples on his back at all times. His shirts have always had terrible ring-around-the-collar. And because he sleeps without a shirt at night, the sheets and pillowcases have a visible grease print where he sleeps. Sigh. My oldest son has inherited this trait, and as he is almost 13 the oil seems to be ramping up in response to puberty. There is no way to change it, so, I have to tell myself that there are many great things about it too! No flaky dry skin! Very few wrinkles (that is a big one)! No need to use lotion! So, I know that is a different issue than your son faces, but I just wanted to share that there are many inherited difficulties that we all deal with as parents. It seems to me that you are doing all of the right things. One last thing that you might try is going to a podiatrist (a regular MD won't know, it is not their specialty) and just seeing if there is anything that they might have to offer. I know that there are only certain strains of bacteria that live on our skin that produce the smelly smell, so the Podiatrist might have more info about how to figure that out. The only other thing I can add is to never, ever let him wear Crocs. I have worked with enough boys to know that boys who wear Crocs with no socks have the worst foot odor ever! And it is accompanied by a brown slime that inhabits both their feet and inside of the shoes. Sorry to be gross, but it is true! My younger son has worn crocs only while going to/from the pool and this has never happened. But his friends who wear Crocs 24/7, that is another story. The other thing is that with my boys who generally don't have foot odor probs I have found that there are certain blends of poly or nylon socks that can create instant foul foot odor. Now that my 13 year old is doing track, his feet sweat so much in workouts, and with puberty, I am noticing a bit more odor but if he wears cotton or cotton-blend socks it is not bad at all. But some really expensive, made-in-the-USA dry-Max socks that we got at a pricey running shop created some of the most awful foot odor that I have EVER smelled- like we could smell the socks from the other room. And my son had showered that day, it was a normal workout, nothing had changed except that he wore those socks! I had him wear his cotton blend ones the next day, and no smell. I washed the expensive dry-max ones thinking it must have been something on them, but- same thing happened again the next time he wore them, I mean, the socks were so putrid (and stiff, how does that happen with a 2 hour wearing?!!) that I just threw them away! Yeah, raising boys is interesting, huh? best to you!
Talk to a doctor?
I've had this problem on and off for years and had great success w/sprinkling baking soda in the offending shoes. It magically eliminates the gross odors. That and keeping their feet and shoes dry. Good luck!
In addition to all the other remedies mentioned above, we put our son's shoes in the freezer overnight - it kills the bacteria which make the smell. It helped reduce the smell.