Hey – talk about a seriously embarrassing little problem. My son’s feet can stink so badly – I have permanently banished his shoes from my house. Those babies have to stay in the garage when he visits!

But there are other options, and not one requires him to stop visiting, or cut off his feet, or even spend a lot of money.

First though – why do feet smell? Good Question. Research suggests that the primary cause are the thousands of sweat glands in your feet – and sweat enclosed in tight spaces is a great breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria. So any cure is going to start with getting rid of the bacteria – and secondly – dealing with the sweat.

Smelly Feet Cure #1: Air out your shoes. 24 hours between wearings is the suggested time frame – so buy a 2nd pair! Alternate your shoes every day – you’ll get twice the life – and less smell.

Smelly Feet Cure #2: Buy shoes that self ‘air’. Mesh inserts, bacteria ‘eating’ insoles, anything that will get air into the shoes – and kill off the bacteria will help. You know that this is going to help if your smelly feet problem is much worse in the winter (tight-fitting air sealed shoe season) and non-existent on the beach when you wear flip-flops!

Smelly Feet Cure #3: Dab antiperspirants deodorant on you feet – or spray it into your shoes. Hey – cut off the source of the smell – (sweat) – and you are less likely to encourage those odor-rific bacteria.

Smelly Feet Cure #4: For hard-core smell – try disinfectant spray or a sprinkle of cornstarch or antifungal/antibacterial powder – in the shoes – not on the feet. No need to pay lots of money for this stuff either – we’re talking grocery store cleaning supply aisle.

Still having issues – I did read once that Botox injections halt the function of sweat glands – so I suppose you can try that. Won’t make for smiling feet though! Personally – go for option 1 – really – is a 2nd pair of shoes that hard to break in?