Sunday, August 19, 2007

Where's My Febreeze?


The Boy has an embarrassing social problem. It's become so bad that even he is aware of it. There are times he doesn't want to be in the same room with himself. Not to be too delicate about it, basically, The Boy's feet stink!

And I mean stink. This is no slight sweaty gym sock scent but full-out nostril-searing stench. I have tried to fix the problem in any way I can think of. We have washed his sneakers, washed his feet in fragranced soap, creamed and powdered them. But the smell lives on.

He's far too active riding his bike, skateboarding and just generally doing boy things to wear sandals. He nearly lost a toe that way. I have just scrubbed the feet clean and applied sweet-smelling lotion. I am washing the sneakers right now. I am waiting until the very last second before I buy him a new pair of shoes for school or they too, will suffer the summer stink.

That's the problem. It's summer. His feet just excrete sweat madly during hot weather. What's worse is that even though he leaves for summer camp with clean socks on, he comes back without them every day. His feet swelter and sweat inside those sneakers and the result is that when he takes his shoes off in a room full of people, it is like employing biological warfare.

I don't think I can put off buying new shoes much longer. School is still two weeks away and any minute now I expect the haz-mat team to show up in my driveway.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could try buying him GEOX shoes
http://www.geox.com/ they have a special sole which allows most to go out but not in, or something.

glenniah said...

When I was young my feet used to stink like mad, (so they tell me). It was years later that I discovered that it was wearing rubber shoes that made them stink (so they tell me). Where oh where would we be without Febreeze? Buying new shoes every five minutes I suppose.
Glen

Anonymous said...

I haven't ever heard of those, Manic, but I think I found a solution. A very effective foot spray (well, it seems to be working) and a pair of "aqua shoes" like the ones you wear to the beach. They breathe a lot more than his sneakers, and things seem to be improving.

Anonymous said...

Ah Glennie, I can't believe such a thing, you having smelly feet?

It's definitely the rubber and the close fit of the sneakers. The heat and his feet combine in that closed dark environment and the most heinous things are cultured and grow.