Re: Ok I need help.. socks question!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hankpac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If by "stick" you meant "Stink", you probably need to do a full court press.
Use two different pair of boots, and change them daily so each has a chance to air and dry out. Put antibacterial/antifungal powder in them while of, and just before pitting on the fresh pair.
Your feet can have a bad bacterial and fungal infection, and even when clean can smell pretty bad.
Use a good foot powder every single day: Gold Bond is great if there isn't a problem, but otherwise you need an anti-fungal.
When bathing, wash your feet throughly and carefull, getting between each toe, with sopa and water and a scrubbing cloth. Dry them carefully, and take the time to get between each toe. If you have an infection, you will see things like little pits on the soles of your feet and toes, and perhaps some stuff between the toes, especially the last two. In that case use an over the counter antifungal creme, after washing, and put on clean white socks, for the evening, then do it again in the morning, and use the creme and then powder before putting on your work socks and boots.
It may take up to a week to make a difference, and several weeks to solve the problem. Consider a visit to a podiatrist.
As to socks: thin Polypro inner socks, and heavy work or hiking socks made of wool are your best bets.
Take care of your feet.
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Good stuff here...I too recommend the wool socks for cushion and wicking away sweat as long as you can wash them after a day's wear, (Jered - how'd those socks from SHOT work for ya?)...if you need to wear socks longer without washing stick to white cotton...
Couple suggestions: for good recommendations on over the counter products (OTC's) I can strongly recommend ZeasorbAF powder and Zeasorb Ultra Drying Gel, Lamisil is probably the best OTC AF cream out there. Realistically, if you have a fungal infection of the feet, usually a topical antifungal is needed for at least twice a day for 3 weeks, and then maintained with a once a day or twice weekly application; toenails are another story, and although there is a topical antifungal nail polish, fungus of the nails usually needs oral medication.
When the toes get sweaty and the web-bases start to get soft, white & peel - that a combination fungus and bacterial infection and needs a combination of antifungal and topical antibiotic or antifungal and vinegar soaks for treatment. (You can use a black light to this infection and you will see a coral pink color- that's a gram negative bacteria).
When an ingrown toenail is an issue, one recommendation right off the bat early is also going to be to use acetic acid (white vinegar) in a 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water solution, soaked twice a day for ten minutes, to keep bacterial colonization down. Keep the garage tools in the garage guys, and NO, running alcohol over your tools or "sterilizing" them over an open flame will not convert your tools into surgical instruments! When those toes get infected, especially if you have diabetes/peripheral neuropathy, a smoker, or have poor foot circulation (peripheral vascular disease), don't be stupid about seeking professional medical attention early! The VA hospitals are literally full of older non-combat foot amputees who let their infections go too long.
For people that have very sweaty feet, beside the Zeasorb products, there are two OTC products I'd recommend: Dri-Off gel (can also be used when a sustained cheek-weld hold is needed for hours in heat while in your hide), or Certain-Dri applied at night; these are good anti-sweat products. Beyond these, the next steps are prescription Drysol (= aluminum chloride in higher concentration), or painful Botox injections (needed every few months to control sweating).
There is also a condition commonly confused with fungus - hallmark is little deep-seated tapioca-like beads or blisters (without pus) & intense itching on the inside of the foot - if you have it on the side of your fingers its dyshidrotic eczema and not fungus, sometimes a doctor looking at a scraping under a microscope is necessary to tell the two apart. The treatment of dyshidrotic eczema is a topical steroid, but if you put a steroid cream on top of a fungus by accident it can drive the fungus deeper into the skin, and may require treatment with an oral antifungal medication with side effects of liver toxicity, low blood cell count, funny metallic taste in mouth & rarely a fatal rash. (This is why Lotrisone which equals lotrimin antifungal and betamethason diproprionate steroid - a strong steroid in combo. with an antifungal as a product doesn't make sense - its pushed to GP's/PCP's but never to feet or skin professionals that know it doesn't make sense to compromise the skin's immune system against a fungus with a steroid just to reduce the itch a little quicker at the risk of driving the fungus deeper into the skin). People with severe athlete's feet (fungus) can also have it spread to one hand too - red scaly patches on one palm, called "one hand, two feet syndrome"; that needs antifungal treatment.
Sometimes, through genetics or "wear and tear" the skin on the bottom of the foot gets too thick for an antifungal to penetrate enough to be effective - a good OTC is Amlactin XL cream or Keralyt gel to use twice a day to get the thickness of the skin down so the antifungal will work, (warning: stings on open cuts), there are some stronger keratolytics your doctor can write for like Urea 40% that works great too.
When you see a bright "emerald green" color under the nails or in the nail plate - that's pseudomonas bacteria, which although a bad bacteria in itself; if the person isn't immunocompromised it can be treated with some prescription antibiotic drops & vinegar soaks, and avoiding excess contact with water. Finally, dark brown or black dots can be bad news -Bob Marley died of a melanoma on his toe that he refused to have amputated...a black area from hemorrhage of blood under the nail will gradually grow out (away from the body); 40% of nail melanomas have a proceeding history of trauma..pigment extending past the nail backwards onto the cuticle is a very bad sign...Now, where were we again? Oh yeah, socks...
