Not a pleasant topic - stinky feet

prairie full moon

prairie full moon

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2020
Messages
79
A little ahead of myself, but good advice for any group living...

What can DS take to summer training to control stinky feet?

His brother just yells at him here at home (they share a room), but he will need to take ownership of that when he leaves.

Thank you!
 
My younger sister had this issue as a young athlete, and her doc said it was normal and to not be embarrassed. He recommended charcoal products both wash and insoles. Amazon has tons of options out there. I hadn't done any research on this as it was decades ago. I hope he finds something that works.
 
Good advice above. I’ve seen, examined, and smelled hundreds, no thousands of feet. Bunches of them stank. Lots of people don’t wash their feet when they shower. Soap and water is a good start to odor control. Drying thoroughly between the toes is essential. Control fungus with powder or spray. Change socks twice a day if possible. Rotate shoes among three or more pairs.
 
The curriculum for field medical school:
Enabling Learning Objective I Take Motrin
Enabling Learning Objective II Drink water
Enabling Learning Objective III Change socks
Training day 33 Graduation
 
Good thoughts above on shoe inserts, sock hygiene, etc. @Devil Doc knows military feet.

Use same deodorant soap on feet as armpits.

Not as portable a solution but good ol’ Sea Breeze facial astringent cleanser. Saturate a cotton pad, wipe thoroughly around toes, heels, soles and tops of feet after shower or as a quick between-shoe-change treatment. The alcohol evaporates quickly, and the formula contains oils of eucalyptus, peppermint, cloves, all natural deodorants and anti-fungal. And refreshing.

Several of our USNA sponsor mid track athletes used this. One even had Amazon ship a gallon container to our house, and he would refill a spray bottle.

I have a foo-foo (Navy slang for anything that smells nice you put on your body, perfume, aftershave, etc. to make yourself more attractive) solution. I use peppermint foot lotion after every shower and before bed, on well-dried feet. I started doing this years ago after long days in Navy work shoes in hot climates, then switching into PT shoes, then dress shoes. I have elevated my game to the pricey Aveda Foot Relief, but there are plenty of affordable peppermint foot lotions out there, and if they have menthol, tea tree oil, clove oil or other aromatics, all the better. You as a whole will not give off an odor reminiscent of a candy cane, but the local area around your feet will be nice.
 
@Devil Doc and @Capt MJ provide practical advice. To avoid catching any foot related mung while living in a dormitory environment, I ‘d recommend packing (and using) shower shoes. You don’t want to exacerbate stinky feet. I’d always tell my sailors on ship not to be walking around the 60-person berthing area, head, and shower areas, barefooted. No telling what you’d find on deck. We needed them for flight ops and not at sick bay. Always take care of your feet. The Marines would tell you that too.
 
Devil Doc said:
Rotate shoes among three or more pairs.
Click to expand...
Rotating shoes also really prolongs the life of the shoe. Separate from foot odor, a day or two of not being worn allows the shoes to fully dry out which does not happen with near-constant wear. In addition to the above, try to avoid plastic/corfam shoes as they hold the moisture inside on the feet. They may look nice for inspections but are not a good thing for all day wear.
 
DH has used Gold Bond foot powder or foot spray, a classic go-to on deployment with long days in flight boots. He still uses it if he knows he’s going to be in his paddock boots all day.
 
Devil Doc said:
The curriculum for field medical school:
Enabling Learning Objective I Take Motrin
Enabling Learning Objective II Drink water
Enabling Learning Objective III Change socks
Training day 33 Graduation
Click to expand...
I am laughing so hard right now! I have a friend who has been knocked on their tail with COVID this past week. I gave this exact advice as a joke. They did say fresh socks were kind of nice!
 
There are more corpsmen memes about socks, water, and Motrin than any other. Never mind the 23 Medals of Honor. Let’s meme about socks.
 
Devil Doc said:
There are more corpsmen memes about socks, water, and Motrin than any other. Never mind the 23 Medals of Honor. Let’s meme about socks.
Click to expand...
Plenty of SWO memes about coffee, backstabbing and shoe color.
Never mind things like the Battle of Samar (Taffy-3) and misc events from John Paul Jones to the present day.


 
Our DS had to write a very lengthy essay this past semester for Naval History class. He chose the Battle of Samar. It was so interesting hearing him discuss his research that he got me to watch several documentaries about it. Fascinating stuff.
 
WT Door said:
@Devil Doc and @Capt MJ provide practical advice. To avoid catching any foot related mung while living in a dormitory environment, I ‘d recommend packing (and using) shower shoes. You don’t want to exacerbate stinky feet. I’d always tell my sailors on ship not to be walking around the 60-person berthing area, head, and shower areas, barefooted. No telling what you’d find on deck. We needed them for flight ops and not at sick bay. Always take care of your feet. The Marines would tell you that too.
Click to expand...
This is key.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top