"The feet smell bad, there must be beriberi!"
In the hot summer, the feet are particularly prone to sweating, and then they emit a disgusting and unpleasant smell, which must be infected with athlete's foot.
Myth analysis
This statement is incorrect.
Foot odor ≠ athlete's foot, athlete's foot produces athlete's foot, but athlete's foot is not necessarily athlete's foot.
Summer is here, and I believe everyone is no stranger to a smell, that is, the intriguing smell on the feet.
Now let's test you, is this kind of stinky feet? Or athlete's foot? I believe that many people should be confused, isn't foot odor beriberi?
Definitely. Don't get me wrong, foot odor and athlete's foot are different issues, don't confuse them. Today, we will reveal the secret for you. If you don't have time to read, you can scroll directly to the end of the article to view the summary.
Foot odor and athlete's foot
What are they?
In fact, foot odor and athlete's foot are common names for skin problems among our people.
The scientific name for foot odor is stinkhidrosis, or more accurately, "localized apocrine stinkhidrosis". It means a condition that is confined to the feet, and the source of the disease is the tissue structure of the eccrine glands. A similar condition to foot odor is axillary odor, which is a type of odorous sweat that occurs in the armpits, and its source is not eccrine glands, but apocrine glands.
The scientific name of athlete's foot is tinea pedis, or athlete's foot, which is a foot lesion caused by a fungal infection, and the related fungus belongs to dermatophytes.
It can be seen that foot odor and athlete's foot are actually two very independent and not very related problems, but they are commonly known as a bit similar, so it is easy for people to misunderstand.
In fact, this situation is very common, and this is not to blame, the problem is that the naming itself is not very rigorous, and this situation is called "misnomer" in medicine. The so-called athlete's foot, in fact, is not the main feature of the foot at all - the smell of the foot as the name suggests, but the associated skin lesions, which we will discuss in detail below.
Similarly, beriberi and beriberi are almost 108,000 miles apart. Because, beriberi is a disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, which is manifested not in the feet, but in weight loss, mental malaise, sensory function decline and even arrhythmias.
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How can you tell if it's bad feet or athlete's foot?
To determine whether it is foot odor or athlete's foot, we need to have a general understanding of the mechanism of their disease.
There are 2 sources of foot odor, one is sweating and the other is bacteria. You know, the eccrine glands of the feet are very well developed, and there are 500,000 acrine glands on both feet, which are densely distributed on the skin. The sweat they excrete is originally odorless, but with the action of bacteria, things become more complicated - bacteria will interact with sweat, dead skin and other substances to decompose and produce a variety of odor substances. It's like the reaction between yeast and grapes, where yeast produces wine and bacteria on the feet produce foot odor.
The root cause of athlete's foot is fungus. The fungus feeds on keratinocytes on the surface of the skin, which can damage the skin. Not only that, they can also cause a local inflammatory response, producing a variety of manifestations, such as redness, blisters, itching, and other subjective and objective symptoms.
Combined with the above discussion, we have sorted out the key points of identifying foot odor and athlete's foot, as shown in the table below.
Table 1. Key points for identifying foot odor and athlete's foot
If the table isn't intuitive enough, we can look at the lesion photos of athlete's foot.
Swipe left to see more Typical athlete's foot Image Source: Reference[7]
If you feel that it is still difficult to judge after looking at these photos, then you can completely go to the doctor offline for examination to confirm the diagnosis, and dermatologists can use microscopic examination to determine whether there is a fungus that causes athlete's foot on the foot.
Don't want to have smelly feet
What can I do?
Want to improve foot odor? Dermatologists have a solution.
However, the key to solving the problem is that everyone must persevere, and if you want to solve it more thoroughly, it will cost some money.
There are a few measures that you don't want to spend money on:
· Wash your feet every day, when washing your feet, wash off the dead skin, and after washing your feet, you should dry the water so that the skin is not too moist and bacteria are easier to breed.
· Wear shoes and socks in turns, change them frequently, and it is best to wear different shoes and socks every day, after all, the longer you wear them, the more nutrients (dead skin and the like) of bacteria, and the more bacteria you have.
· Reduce unnecessary sweating, such as standing for long periods of time and exercising frequently.
If you're willing to spend money, we also recommend:
· Change a batch of shoes and socks, and choose shoes and socks with good breathability. Take socks as an example, you can choose cotton or wool socks, their sweat-absorbing function will be better, if you choose traditional nylon socks and other synthetic fibers, the probability of foot odor will increase.
· You can spend a little money to buy scrubs or antibacterial soaps, and when washing your feet, use scrubs to remove excess and thickened dead skin and reduce the nutrients of bacteria; The role of antibacterial soap is to reduce the total amount of bacteria.
· Fully charge the electricity bill, turn on the air conditioner, and let the environment cool and cool. If you sweat less, foot odor will naturally not be easy to appear.
· If you sweat a lot, it is recommended to buy antiperspirants. The most classic and effective antiperspirant ingredient is aluminum chloride (such as 20% concentration of aluminum chloride hexahydrate), don't spend money on Chinese patent medicines, plant ingredients products, it is easy to be fooled.
If you have done these measures and there is no way to improve, then there are 2 options, either give up resistance and surrender to foot odor, or find a dermatologist to find a way.
dermatophytosis
And what should I do?
What should I do if I suspect that I have athlete's foot?
To be honest, the treatment of beriberi is more professional, and it is recommended to leave this professional matter to a professional dermatologist.
The reason for this is that beriberi medication is more complex and involves the choice of different antifungal drugs, and if the disease is severe, oral medication may be required. In addition, before treatment, it is necessary for the doctor to further determine whether it is beriberi, there are several diseases that may look like athlete's foot, such as eczema, contact dermatitis, fossa keratolysis, chapped skin, juvenile plantar dermatosis, etc.
However, this does not prevent us from sharing our ideas on the treatment and care of beriberi here.
First of all, the key to beriberi treatment is the use of antifungal drugs, which usually take 2 to 4 weeks of continuous treatment to achieve a course of treatment. Topical medications recommend a cream, which is more effective than a spray. There are many types of creams, and it is advisable not to choose products that contain glucocorticoids, such as parisone and fuyanin, which contain the hormone triamcinolone acetonide acetate.
Secondly, pay more attention to protection, otherwise athlete's foot is more likely to recur. Whether the protection effect is good or not, the key lies in whether everyone is lazy or not. So how to take care of it? We've also sorted out the key points:
· Pay attention to the dryness and breathability of the feet, as the fungus prefers a moist, non-breathable environment.
· Pay attention to cleanliness, wash your feet every day, and dry the soles of your feet, toes, and between your toes.
· Shoes and socks with good breathability, don't get stuffy.
· Shoes and socks should be changed frequently, socks and insoles can be washed with hot water, and fully dried after cleaning.
· Do not share items such as nail clippers, slippers, foot washbasins, and foot towels with other people, as there is a risk of spreading the fungus.
· Don't walk barefoot in shared areas such as bathrooms and pools.
To sum up, foot odor and athlete's foot are actually two unrelated issues, so don't confuse them.
Foot odor, medically known as odorous sweat, is caused by the odor of sweat secreted by eccrine glands under the action of bacteria; Whereas, athlete's foot is medically known as athlete's foot, which is a skin lesion caused by a fungal infection. To distinguish between the two, it should be noted that foot odor is mainly manifested by foot odor, while athlete's foot is accompanied by skin symptoms such as itching, blisters, and erythema.
Foot odor can be improved by daily cleaning, changing shoes and socks, reducing sweating, etc., and in severe cases, antiperspirants can be used. The treatment of beriberi is more specialized and usually requires the use of antifungal drugs, as well as attention to dryness, cleanliness and personal hygiene of the feet to avoid infection.
How, have you learned?
According to the "rumor" mirror
The reason why this kind of rumor can mislead people is that it is a matter of physical health, and everyone is easy to care about it. Second, because it is a matter of personal privacy, the person concerned may be ashamed to consult others, so they take it for granted that two symptoms with similar names are regarded as one disease. But in fact, sometimes two diseases have similar names, but their essence is often very different.
Therefore, it is recommended that when you are unsure or have doubts about some symptoms of your body, the best way is to consult a professional in time, and avoid blind "self-diagnosis", so as to avoid wrong treatment, which not only does not cure the disease, but also brings some other health risks.
bibliography
[1] NHS. Smelly feet. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/smelly-feet/
[2] Cleveland Clinic. 4 Ways You Can Avoid Stinky Feet. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/4-sure-fire-ways-you-can-avoid-stinky-feet
[3] Sweaty Feet. https://balancehealth.com/services/sweaty-feet/foot-and-ankle-associates/
[4] UpToDate. 臭汗症. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/zh-Hans/bromhidrosis
[5] UpToDate. 原发性局灶性多汗症. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/zh-Hans/primary-focal-hyperhidrosis
[6] UpToDate. 皮肤癣菌感染. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/zh-Hans/dermatophyte-tinea-infections
[7] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/athletes-foot/
Planning and production
Author | Tang Jiaoqing, Attending Physician of Dermatology, Doctor of Medicine, Author of Popular Science
Audit | Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Dermatology, Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital
Planning丨Zhong Yanping
Editor丨Zhong Yanping
Reviewer丨Xu Lai Linlin