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Posted By Marie Dolman
An employee has a particularly bad foot odour problem and is required to wear safety shoes in his role as Maintenance Engineer. As a result we are currently replacing his footwear every couple of months because they become unwearable very quickly, even though he does everything he can to prevent this.
He suggested today that he would "opt out" of wearing safety shoes as they seem to make the problem worse (and he is also embarassed by constantly asking for new shoes) - obviously this isn't an option.
Does anyone know of a disposable / odour absorbing shoe liner that would completely cover his foot (preferably made from something like an "odour eater"), which may prolong the life of his shoes and reduce his embarrassment!
Alternatively, any other suggestions for industrial strength foot odour solutions would be most welcome.
Thanks
Marie.
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
One of the things that can make this worse is the wearing of the same footwear everyday. Have you tried providing more than one pair at a time and asking the employee to rotate the footwear every cuople of days.
Without being offensive it is actually dead bacteria in partial anaerobic conditions that create the smell - hence the smelly trainer syndrome familiar to most parents of teenagers. A couple of days airing before a bad buildup occurs can work wonders. There are also some disinfectant sprays made for these problems and can assist if sprayed into the shoe. Neutral foot talcs can also assist.
Don't let yourself be led into a relaxation however as this is the thin end of an awfully big wedge.
Bob
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Posted By Ron Young
Surely this employee should be visiting his GP where the prescribing of anti-biotics may be effective.
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Posted By Jim Walker
Come on Ron! thats a bit drastic - we've got enough problems with antibiotic resistant bugs without sloshing yet more around.
I've got two pairs of shoes and wear on alternate days and as Bob says that controls the problem.
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Posted By Ron Young
Hi Jim,
I was going on the premis that from what I remember reading (somewhere), a large majority of foot odour problems are caused by bacteria, that can be effectively controlled by "bog standard" anti-biotics. I accept your point about the prolific use of anti-biotics but surely on this occasion the sweet smell of success is worth it...
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
As you may guess Ron I'm with Jim on this. The bacteria are not invasive to the human body in this situation they are growing, breeding and dying in the shoe so no amount of ingested antibiotic will defeat, or is that defeet - sorry about that, the problem.
Jim is also right about the overuse of antibiotics as this is probably one of the most serious potential problems we face from a health viewpoint.
Bob
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Posted By Ron Young
Jim, Bob, (sounds like the Waltons)
Message accepted but without wanting to appear to be back tracking, I think I've got my anti biotics & anti bacterials muxed ip.
Ron
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Posted By Stuart Nagle
I'm with Ron on this one.
It is apparent that the chap in question has a problem that could be medically treated, and with self-help could be adequately controlled or cleared-up entirely.
As someone who knows all too well the sweaty feet symdrome (particulary in safety boots) when working hard and leaking sweat liberally, personal hygiene is also important and the suggestion of having perhaps more than one pair of footwear to use is I think reasonable given the circumstances.
It may also be worth looking for other clues too, such as:
- Working environment (hot, humid, wet floors?)
- What type of socks are being worn (man-made or natural material - how often changed?)
- Type of footwear being supplied (is it suitable to this individual - PPE regs?)
- Welfare facilities - are employees able to maintain personal hygiene on-site if necessary?
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Posted By Jim McCulloch
Marie,
Many years ago was faced with a similar
situation and managed to resolve it.
E-Mail me direct for details.
Jim
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