Foot Odor

A Look at the Use of Silver in Footwear to Treat Foot Odor
Foot odor is an unsightly affliction that affects millions of individuals, but it is rarely acknowledged over the water cooler. Countless bacteria and organisms live on your foot. Our feet produce over a cup of moisture per day, and the heat and moisture condensate in our shoes, providing an active source for these organisms to flourish and grow.

 

Foot odor is caused by bacteria, primarily corynebacteria and micrococci, breaking down denatured proteins on the skin and in footwear, resulting in unpleasant odors. Because the feet provide a warm, wet breeding habitat for odor-causing bacteria, they are the most common source of odors. Fortunately, getting rid of the bacteria usually gets rid of the stink.

 

There are a variety of “cure” options for preventing foot odor, ranging from charcoal filters to odor-masking perfumes and other artificial chemical substances. The element silver spun into the weave of the cloth is one of the most recent methods for reducing foot odor. Silver has been used as an antibacterial agent for over 4000 years and is still widely utilized in hospitals today. Until the previous century, scientists were unable to permanently attach silver to thread. Why wouldn’t this natural ingredient find a place in the footwear industry, given the concerns linked with bacteria and the foot?

 

So, what is silver, exactly? Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag on the periodic table (from the traditional abbreviation from the Latin, Argentum). Silver is a beautiful, soft white transition metal with the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. Coins, dinnerware, and jewelry have all traditionally been made of silver. Silver nitrate is the first medicine given to a newborn baby’s eyes, colloidal silver is used as a liquid antibacterial, and silver sulfadiazine is used as a burn victim’s topical lotion.

 

In addition to shoes, insoles, and socks, silver is now employed in the footwear business. These products have numerous advantages in addition to eliminating foot odor. Here’s a quick rundown of these features:

 

Anti-Odor: A common misunderstanding is that antimicrobial means anti-odor. Silver has antibacterial and anti-odor properties. Body odor is caused by a variety of factors, including bacteria. In addition to ammonia and denatured proteins, odor in footwear is caused by a variety of other factors. Surprisingly, both ammonia and denatured proteins bind to silver most efficiently. Because silver is on the exterior of the fiber, it may bind with these odor-causing substances right away, resulting in quick odor reduction!

 

Antimicrobial: Silver’s antimicrobial properties have been shown to provide specific performance advantages. In less than one hour of exposure, it has been proved to kill 99.9% of bacteria on the material. Because silver’s anti-microbial qualities are activated by heat, it will kill bacteria and fungus faster as the temperature in your footwear rises due to activity.

 

Temperature Control: In recent years, the biophysics of footwear has attracted a lot of attention. It is now possible to harness the body’s and environment’s existing energy to actively manage temperature via heat transfer. The natural passage of moisture through evaporation is aided by silver footwear. Silver has the ability to speed up the evaporation of moisture. As a result, it transfers moisture away from the body more quickly, creating a more pleasant environment and reducing the risk of convective heat loss. Silver-lined footwear helps with evaporation in hot weather by dissipating the moisture that comes into touch with your feet. Furthermore, because heat and moisture are spread across the whole surface of the shoe or insole, hot patches and blisters are considerably decreased!

 

Finally, silver in footwear is a sensible reaction for anyone who suffers from foot odor, has a specific medical concern – such as diabetes, in which bacteria elimination would benefit the foot – or suffers from blisters and hot places on their feet. Silver-lined footwear is a new treatment that is based on an old remedy.