Why do feet smell?

Stinky, Yucky, Icky

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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

If you’ve ever noticed that your feet were a bit stinky, the culprit to blame is sweat. On a hot day or after running around a lot, you’ve probably noticed your forehead, under-arms, and feet get sweaty.

Sweat is your body’s natural way of cooling down when it’s hot, and believe it or not, it’s not the sweat itself that smells! Sweat becomes smelly when it mixes with bacteria that live on your skin -- these are tiny critters too small for you to see which live naturally on your feet, hands, and other parts of your body. The reason feet get particularly stinky is because they’re often closed up inside your shoes, which can make them sweat even more!

Even though bacteria can cause such a stink, having some on your body (and even on your feet!) is normal. Some things you can do to keep your foot-smell at a minimum include washing and drying your feet really well every day, and always wearing clean socks!

Funky foot findings!

Have you ever measured your foot against your forearm? It may sound like a silly thing to do, but most people find that their foot is about the same size as the space between their elbow and their wrist! (How strange!!)

Think about all of the ways in which your feet are really neat. What allows your feet to be so helpful? Does it have more to do with their shape or their color? What do you think it would be like if you had feet that were shaped differently? Consider the way that certain animals have feet that are different from ours. How do you think different feet are helpful to different creatures??