How Do I Get Rid of Stinky Feet, Nine Year Old Boy?

Updated on February 15, 2014
M.B. asks from Holbrook, AZ
16 answers

My sons feet stink, real bad!!! I heard soak the feet in tea? My sons is nine years old, very active (plays youth football), showers regularly. Please help!

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C.H.

answers from Flagstaff on

You have a lot of good advice. I like to use the tea tree oil and Lavender oil as well. Most important is to clean socks and let the shoes completely dry out between uses. Having a few pairs of shoes helps with this. My foster mother always told me to take off my shoes when I got home from school and put on another pair with clean socks. I also put a sachet of baking soda that I put a few drops of tea tree oil (mix well) and let sit in the shoes overnight.

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P.M.

answers from Tucson on

Well, let me help you during monsoon season it rains a lot and kids shoes are always wet and they stink, I am not sure if this is your issue, but I sprayed Lysol in to my sons shoes inside and out in the evening and by morning there was no smell, he is still wearing the same shoes and it has been about a month. No stink. We all appreciate it. Try IT!!

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H.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I have three boys...can you say STINKY!!!
It used to knock the wind out of me to walk in their rooms.

After we bought new carpet we made it a rule that you have to wash your feet when you take off cleats and sneakers before wiping those stinky feet on the carpet. They just run them under the bathtub or stand like flamingos at the bathroom sink.

We use Lysol in all our shoes (each boy keeps a bottle in his shoe bin) and they swipe the bottom of their feet with their underarm deoderant before putting on their socks.

Incidently they are all big sweaters...especially thier heads. We found that using clear antipersperiant on their foreheads helped that as well.

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D.H.

answers from Flagstaff on

How embarrasing for your poor son. There are the socks at walmarts for 5 bux a pk. I just bought some for my husband, they are supoosed to help control the moisture and stinky feet. Also there are the Gortex shoes..those can be very helpful. Plus there is the wearing 2 different pairs of shoes through out the day and changing your socks. Make sure his feet are good and dry by towel and air before he puts his sox on. Sprinkle some gold bond medicated powder in his socks and shoes too, or just rub the talcum powder into his feet. There are out fighting insoles. Go bare foot at home as often as possible. Aloe Gel is supposed to work with in 24 hours.Give shoes at least 24 hours to air out between wearings. Use mild soap when washing.
Two other natural prevention cure options are soaking your feet in one part vinegar and two parts water, or strong black tea for 30 minutes a day for a week. The tannic acid in the tea kills bacteria and closes the pores:

1. Use two tea bags per pint of water
2. Boil for 15 minutes
3. Add two quarts of cool water
4. Soak your feet in the cooled solution
You can talk yo your doctor if all else fails...and I have also heard of botox injections for stinky feet. I think they are like 5 to 15 bux per injection, but I don't know how much many injections per treatment or how often you go back, or how long it works...just a last resort if it were too embarrassing for the kiddo.
Good old hormone changes..lol
could it be athletes foot too?
I guess I have given you enough to keep you busy for a year.
Good luck!

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B.G.

answers from Tucson on

wash/scrub feet with baking soda.....soak his gym shoes in a bucket of baking soda + water too!
B. Gettel OTR/L CHT CCH
Eclectic Body Work
Tucson

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L.E.

answers from Phoenix on

We had the same problem with out son a year ago. He is 9 now.
WE went to walmart and it took a bit of ready lables and searching. only thing we found was an orange box, "Johnson's Foot soap" We soaked his feet once for the recommended time and so far havn't had that stench again.
it's a four pack so if the first time doesnt' work try another day.
Hope that works.

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Y.T.

answers from Santa Fe on

My twin brother-in-laws had bad stinky feet and they told y husband that they sprinkled boric acid powder in their boots and dumped out the excess and that after a few days, no more stinky feet. I've used this for years on my husband and our kids and it works and is not expensive. Works better than Gold Bond powder and the other odor eater powders. Give it a try. Good luck.....Toots

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J.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Well, this is going to sound weird, but...Listerine. I heard about this on the radio just yesterday, so I haven't actually tried it myself, but aparently Listerine is one of those products that has 50 million uses nobody ever knew about. (You know- like Windex cures everything from poimples to mosquito bites.;)) Anyway, one woman was complaining of her daughter's horribly stinky feet and she was using Listerine to clean her feet and also her shoes (with paper towel soaked with Listerine, I think). She swears it did the trick. Like I said I can't speak from personal experience, but I thought the idea was intriguing. Good luck!

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N.S.

answers from Flagstaff on

I've read a lot of places that shoes make our feet stink...of course, we can't stop wearing shoes. You could put a spoonfull of cornstarch in each sock before he puts them on (this will help some). Its also advised to not wear the same shoes two days in a row--with kids this is hard, but if its possible to let one pair of shoes sit for 24 hrs while he wears another pair is an addition to the cornstarch.
Hope this helps....
Nole

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S.L.

answers from Tucson on

Stinky feet usually are rooted in dirty shoes. Make sure his shoes are clean - wash them or replace them. Dirty shoes also contribute to fungal issues. Just because he showers regularly doesn't mean he is actually scrubbing his feet with soap and a washcloth or a pumice stone. If fungus is part of the issue then the tea I would suggest soaking in is very anti-fungal - and drinking it has even more health benefits as it is also a powerful anti-oxidant. I also know of an all-natural concentrated cleaner that is safe to use on skin. It is a powerful deodorizer as removes whatever the source of the odor is instead of just covering it with fragrance. If you are interested in more information about either of these products feel free to contact me.

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J.J.

answers from Phoenix on

boys feet stink. i know . especially if they are in sports. i have had a bunch of boys stinky feet for the last few years. my mom made some kind of infusion form some herb she says grows on their ranch . i dont know what it is but it worked, for the boys that wanted to try it and after a while they didnt want to. so what worked for us is to have two separate types of shoes they wear. like tow pairs of running shoes they wear one the first day and the other the second day so this with school shoes too. all shoes. the ones that played footbal actually had 3 pairs of cleats. two to alternate daily and one for games. since i had four boys at one time in the house that were stinky feet boys and in sports i kept a bucket with a bleach/detergent solution in the laundry area. they would all throw their socks in it every day and i would wash them every other day. otherwise i couldnt keep them in socks. they need to change their socks form school socks to practice socks and when they got home they always ran around in their socks. i filled some tube socks loosley with fresh rosemary and whatever other herbs and flax seed in them and they stuffed them into the shoes they were not using that day. it helps absorb the odors and dry off the shoes. i dont know if that helped or not but the shoes did have a day to dry off.they also sprinkled gold bond powder in their shoes before putting them on and i bought travel size ones to put into their gym bags. also scheck and see if his feet have any kind of fungus and teach him to dry well between his toes. my oldest was livign ingrenada west indies for a while and he got athletes foot. when he came back it spread to all fo them form the shower. so another thing i keep is a spray bottle of diluted bleach solution inside the shower so that they can spray down the floor before they shower then let it wash off before they get in. I know is sounds kind of expensive but when you have so many stinky feet in the house it helps. and we passed on shoes to the youngest as they out grew them.

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A.R.

answers from Albuquerque on

My boys all played football too. Once the cleats got wet they were miserable and their feet were just nasty. I foolishly made the guys leave their shoes outside, and everytime I did it rained or the sprinklers came on. Getting the smell out was impossible and it wore off onto their feet.

Make sure he has a fresh pair of socks and clean shoes as soon as he gets done playing, spray his cleats with lysol every time he plays. 9 yr old boys are famous for not wanting to wear clean clothes or wash well or at all in the shower. You may want to buy some foot scrub for his feet and see if it helps. I do like the baking soda idea, never heard that before. I just always bought new shoes when it got to the point I couldn't ride in the same car with them.

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D.D.

answers from Phoenix on

I also heard tea works.

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S.B.

answers from Santa Fe on

Tea tree oil and lavender oil, they are awesome and it feels good. They are pretty strong so it only takes a few drops in some water water and soak for 5-10 minutes (how ever long he can sit still!). I even keep a spray bottle with both mixed in distilled water for a refreshing spay (I use it to spay my yoga mat after a super sweaty class).

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C.W.

answers from Phoenix on

My grandson's feet have smelled horrible off and on since he was a toddler. I just about die when he takes his shoes off......it's just not normal to smell so bad and I know he showers, is not a jock but fairly active but even as a toddler I would often throw his shoes away rather than wash them 3 times in an attempt to rid them of the odor. He is getting to an age when bad smells are going to hurt his feelings and we all know how hurtful children can be to one another. Is it his diet? what can I do to help him when he is not with me. PLEASE HELP.

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J.J.

answers from Tucson on

You have a lot of wonderful suggestions, which I too with take with me, since I have 2 boys of my own.

My only suggestion is to make sure that you child is wearing shoes that are leather and not man made. The man made material does not let your childs feet breath and the smell becomes double. I agree with the change of socks and shoes between sports.

Good luck

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