Super Stinky Baby Feet

My 21 month old boy has slightly stinky feet. My daughter never did....I just thought maybe it was a male thing :-) Their feet are still cute though, stinkiness and all. Glad to know there are others out there that have the same thing!

My nearly 6 month old daughter's feet have smelled like sprinkle cheese since the day she was born. I love her so much, I sniff at them all day long and have stuck them in my mouth on many occasions, to which, she giggles and squeals with delight! Once she found her feet and how to get them in her mouth, she gave me this little look like "this is fun but something's not quite right"! Ha! I don't know if i'll ever try to fix it, she has stinky feet, and God, I love her so much, I don't even care!

My son is almost 10 months old and is the same way! His aren't super bad.. but even a couple hours after a bath they have a slight ... stink to them. haha. I just kind of let it go. its not bothering him.. and they arent stinky enough to clear a room or anything haha.

My daughter had this problem until she was older than a preschooler, then she grew out of it.

I would tend to agree with the yeast assessment. Look into the Body Ecology diet to learn more. And another good resource on eating to help promote good bacteria is the Weston A. Price foundation and the GAPS diet. The GAPS diet insists that bacteria compete with bacteria and yeast with yeast, so along with eating probiotics and beneficial bacteria (try to get them in FOOD, not just supplements. Foods would include cultured dairy with no added sugar, as well as LACTO FERMENTED pickles, kimchi and sauerkraut.), you'll need to look into beneficial yeast.

Brooke is right: there is no quick fix. Research yeast/candida and work on these as lifestyle changes.

Hi M.,

Yeast causes stinky feet in little ones...It's about the only thing I know that does. Check her tongue and see if there is a light white coating on it. When you are able to visibly see yeast (thrush in little ones, vaginal infection in grown women, etc) the whole body is eaten up with it. Probiotics and prebiotics should help if this is the reason. Remove sugars from her diet as well. Yeast breeds on sugar. This doesn't mean simply sugar but even means white potatoes, bread, any simply carb. Even if this is not the cause, probiotics/prebiotics will be good for her. I bet money her little stinky feet will go away!

As harmless as most people think yeast is, it can break down the immune system and lead to some pretty serious diseases. If this is yeast, be happy she had stinky feet to give you a head's up.

M., give it time. If this is the cause, it will take months to undo.

God bless,
M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

It is possible that she has a foot fungus. I would suggest you stop footie pj's altogether and opt for a fresh pair of white cotton socks if its cold and nothing if its warm. Her feet need to breath. Get rid of or bleach every pair of shoes and socks she has worn before. If it is a fungus you will reinfect her every time she wears those pj's or unwashed shoes. Fungus loves sugar, so watch the amount of sugar in her diet, even natural sugars like in juices. Tea tree oil is a natural remedy that can have an effect on fungus and has no ill effect on babies. You can put it directly on her feet. You may want to be sure that she hasn't been infected by another member of the family. If you all share a bath tub then bleach the floors and tubs and treat every one in the family, if an adult has a bad case of foot fungus it may take prescription strenght fungicide to get rid of it.
On the other hand if none of this is the case it would be worth it to get her tested for allergies, as it is possible that an allergy to a common food like cow milk or grains such as wheat or corn can cause a change in blood chemistry which might result in an unusual odor.
Just glanced at the other answers re yeast (which is a fungus) and that is good advice too.
Good luck.

I am sorry, I don't have an advice but my older had the same problem when baby, it crack me up because I could never understand how such a little sweet baby could have such a stinky baby feet!
Her feet are not as stinky now, which is ironic, I would think we are more stinky as a teens then when baby, but I guess we are all different.

I'd only wear 100% cotton socks and breathable shoes (ie, real leather as opposed to manmade shoes) and get rid of any socks/shoes that are polyester/nylon/etc - anything non-cotton goes. (or dont buy anything that are not 100% cotton from here on out.) When I buy socks for my family, I try to go for the 100% cotton ones otherwise we're liable to get stinky feet when we wear the poly blends socks.

Air out shoes often. I heard that wearing shoes only every other day extends the shoe life (although *of course* it lasts twice as long when you're wearing two pairs instead of one... but I think you really do get more wears out of a pair when it is not every single day in a row. I once wore out a pair of shoes in just 3 months when I wore it everyday. So from there on out, I wore at least 2-3 pairs of shoes a week. I know this is kinda off the point of your question, but try wearing cotton socks (and more variety of shoes, or just plain let her toddle around in socks more often when she's indoors.)

My step daughter is 16 months and is the same way. I just wash her feet every night even if she doesn't need a full bath so at least she doesn't have to go in her crib with her grubby feet. I've also noticed that treating the shoes instead of the feet helps a lot - if you can throw them in the washing machine do that, otherwise you can put them in a ziploc bag and put them in the freezer for 48 hours or so... the cold kills the bacteria that makes the shoes stink.

baking soda.

After bathing, with damp hands rub some baking soda on her feet, making sure to get between her toes. A little goes a long way.

Our daughter was the same. I could bathe her as an infant, and 20 minutes later, she had stinky feet.

It's basically the combination between the sweat on the feet and the bacteria that naturally live on our bodies interacting and producing byproducts that stink.

As young as your daughter is, I'd mention it to the pediatrician and see what they recommend. it could be something as simple as rubbing baby powder on her feet or putting baking soda in her shoes at the end of the day.

But, in the event it's a medical situation that needs to be addressed, you're always best talking to them first.

Good luck!

My sister runs a day care and had a similar problem with a child. I saw on Dr. Oz that soaking in iced tea helps. Dark colored socks and shoes make it worse. I also read that deodorizing foot powder helps.