While foot odor is rarely discussed around the water cooler, it is an
embarrassing problem that affects millions of people. Your feet harbor
millions of organisms and bacteria. Our feet can produce over a cup of
moisture per day, and the heat and moisture build up in our shoes to
create an active source for these organisms to develop and grow.

Foot odor occurs when various bacteria, primarily corynebacteria and
micrococci, break down denatured proteins found on the skin and
footwear, resulting in undesired smells from the feet. The feet are
the places where odors most commonly occur because they provide a
warm, moist breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria. Fortunately,
eliminating the bacteria usually eliminates the odor.

There are many "cures" for stopping foot odor from charcoal filters,
to scents that mask the odor and other artificial chemical substances.
One of the most recent uses of destroying foot odor is the element
silver spun into the weave of the fabric. Silver has been used for
over 4000 years as an anti-bacterial agent and is still commonplace in
hospitals today. Scientists were unable to bond the silver permanently
to thread until the last century. With the problems associated with
bacteria and the foot, why wouldn't this natural element find a place
in the footwear industry?

So, what is silver? Silver is a chemical element on the periodic table
that has the symbol Ag (from the traditional abbreviation from the
Latin, Argentum). It is a soft, white lustrous transition metal;
silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any
metal. Silver has traditionally been used in coins, tableware, and
jewelry. In medicine, it is the first medicine introduced to a newborn
baby's eyes (as in silver nitrate), colloidal silver is used as a
liquid anti-bacterial, and silver sulfadiazine is used as a topical
cream for burn victims.

Silver is now also being used in the footwear industry for shoes,
insoles and socks. There are many benefits beyond foot odor that these
products offer. Below is a short description of these features:

Anti-Odor: A common misconception is that antimicrobial is synonymous
with anti-odor. Silver offers both antimicrobial and anti-odor
benefits. Bacteria are only one cause of body odor. Ammonia and
denatured proteins are also significant contributors to odor in
footwear. Incredibly, both ammonia and denatured proteins bind most
readily with silver. Because silver is on the outside of the fiber,
this allows for immediate binding with these odor causing agents -
resulting in instant odor reduction!

Anti-Bacterial: The anti-microbial performance of silver has proven to
have distinct performance advantages. It has been proven to eliminate
99.9% of bacteria on the material in less than one hour of exposure.
Silver will also kill bacteria and fungi faster as the temperature in
your footwear rises due to activity because its anti-microbial
properties are activated with heat.

Temperature Control: The biophysics of footwear has become an area of
significant interest in recent years. It is now possible to use the
existing energy of the body and the environment to actively regulate
temperature through heat transfer. Silver footwear enhances the
natural movement of moisture through evaporation. Silver accelerates
the evaporation of moisture. As a result, it transports the moisture
away from the body faster, allowing for a more comfortable environment
and less potential for convective heat loss. In warm weather, silver-
lined footwear addresses evaporation by dissipating the amount of
moisture in contact with your feet. What's more, because heat and
moisture are being dispersed over the entire surface of the shoe or
insole, hot spots and blisters are greatly reduced!

In conclusion, silver in footwear, is a logical response to anyone who
might suffer from foot odor, has a specific medical problem - such as
diabetes, in which the foot would benefit from bacteria being
eliminated, or with people who have problems with blisters and hot
spots on their feet. Silver-lined footwear: A new treatment using an
old cure.

If you would like to find out more about this, please go to www.footdefense.com
where you can find more information on silver and foot problems that
affect the diabetic.  Thanks!