And the nose runs. Forgive me, the borscht belt dies hard in my culture. Now that we are well into the dog days of summer and in light of the climate change that has enveloped us all in a haze of oppressive hot air and calamitous storms- and that’s just from the politicos- it’s time to address the big stinky white elephant in the room: foot odor. Yes it happens to the best of us, and apparently some more than others as the smell of summer wafts through the air of your NYC podiatry office like so much cut grass that has sat in the bag for way too long.

It’s always important to consider the cause before the effect, or the diagnosis before the treatment as it were. And in this case it’s the dog days of summer that are getting our NYC dogs a barking. The increased temperatures lead to increased sweat as the body has to ramp up the thermoregulation that is our virtual central air conditioning system.  And that in turn leads to bacterial overgrowth that produces what we in the highly scientific community refer to in medical jargon as the stink foot. Now to be sure, not everyone produces noxious foot odor, and it’s based on a lot of factors including activity, shoe and sock material and even genetics. And in my experience as your NYC foot doc extraordinary, those patients who are most concerned about foot odor need be least concerned and those who are oblivious to the toxic emanations wafting from their dogs might consider a wee bit of gold bond before endangering their poor unsuspecting house mates.

So in the interest of keeping it simple, go with the remedies that work. If soaking your feet in green or black tea sounds exciting, you have my blessing. The rest of you can consider a good anti-fungal foot powder, available at your local apothecary or wherever fine powders are sold, and sprinkle liberally (hey, NYC is a blue state) in your shoes to absorb the moisture, and sorry kids, but socks help the matter. Next consider a regimen of sweat control, and the over the counter antiperspirant sprays, such as those marketed to our armpits, will work just fine as they contain the same active ingredient as the prescription items. Next, keep an activated charcoal insert, available at said apothecary, in your shoes to absorb the odor.  Activated charcoal- not just for frat parties anymore!  And whatever you do, take care of your shoes.

So that’s it for now. The simple joys of summer and stinky feet. Hope that helps you, and if it doesn’t I have the number of a nice fellow on the other side of town…

See you in the office.

Ernest Isaacson