Can Going Sockless Be Bad for Your Feet?

Socks aren't just a fashion accessory -- they can help keep your feet healthy! Learn how to stay safe while sockless in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Sockless shoe fashions are
temptingly simple and care free, but medical professionals want you
to know that you could be putting your feet at risk.
But we spoke with Dr John Chisholm, a dietrist and
the president of the California Podiatric Medical Association. Chisholm, like

(00:25):
most foot doctors, is a big fan of socks. He
says that socks serve two important functions. They reduce friction
between the shoe and the skin, which prevents blisters and abrasions,
and they provide a physical barrier between the foot and
the microbial petrie dish that is a sweaty closed shoe.
Chisholm said, if you were to take a scraping off

(00:46):
of a well worn leather shoe, you'd find it's a
zoo of microorganisms that can cause disease in the human foot.
He notes that the number one threat is the athletes
foot fungus, which he said likes places that are dark, warm,
and don't have a lot of air circulation, like the
inside of a shoe. Chill notes that the athletes foot
Fungus is not only the cause of the classic raw

(01:06):
scaly patches between the toes, but also of most to
nail fungal outbreaks. Socks can stave off athletes foot in
two ways. First, they prevent the fungus from transferring directly
from the shoe material to the skin or nail, and second,
socks stop sweat from pooling the shoe by absorbing and
wicking sweat up the ankle and calf where it can evaporate.

(01:29):
If you're going sockless entirely for fashion reasons, there's a
simple solution no show socks. These extra low cut dress
and athletic socks are designed to stay hidden below the
shoe line while providing protection against blisters and sweaty feet.
Previously only available for the ladies, there are now lots
of no show socks designed just for men. But of

(01:50):
course some people can't stand the feeling of socks on
their feet, and since it's not saying the weather year
round in most places, you need to learn how to
keep those paws healthy inside of posed toe shoes. First,
a word about shoe powders. A light dusting of talcum
powder directly on the foot will keep things dry for
a while, but she Shulman says you should never pour

(02:11):
powder into the shoe itself. It just piles up and
soaks in sweat, trapping it in the shoe. If you're
prone to athletes foot, try an antifungal powder next. Keep
your sockless shoes on a rotation. Give each pair twenty
four to forty eight hours to air out and dry
out between sockless sessions. The longer the rest, the better.

(02:31):
Shulman says wearing shoes day after day without socks would
be like wearing your underwear day after day without washing them.
But the coolest solution, hands down is the stair a
shoe Ultra violet sterilizing device. This handy gadget can be
slipped into your shoe and uses UV light to kill
nine percent of fungal and odor causing microbes in a

(02:52):
forty five minute treatment cycle. The stair shoe isn't cheap,
so if you're looking for a more cost effective way
to eradicate microbes in your shoes, try a disinfecting spray
sold expressly for shoes, not lisol or similar household disinfectants, though,
because they're not supposed to be in contact with the skin.

(03:13):
Today's episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by
Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a production of I
Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and
lots of other practical topics, visit our home planet, how
stuff Works dot com, and for more podcast from my
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