Heavy Duty Summer Socks

I love my injinji socks and have never had problems with them. They aren't that durable but worth the money to me.

http://www.backcountry.com/darn-tough-merino-wool-no-show-mesh-sock

that redness, the swollen when they get hot look, the skin being pink instead of white (or whatever..) as the rest of your body. that's a fungus infection.
sounds like you are on some sort of budget, and that can be a bit of a bother when trying to buy anti fungus meds, because they RAPE you on them. but there are many other things you can do to attenuate the situation. for one, understand that this may not ever going to go away. not later, not a lot later, not never ever.
to that end, you can keep it in check by …
– washing your feets in a meaningful way at any good opportunity. water and soap do wonders if employed several times a day.
– using alcohol after you wash, or just as a quicky wipe down (it feels Great ! ), and it's cheap. and it's fuel too.
– keeping your feet cool/cold. you won't have fungus issues in northern alaska. we know this. heat makes that stuff grow wildly, and it seems, deeper into the skin.
– merino wool socks. yes, good track to go down. wool is nice, and you do not have to wash them as often as cotton. cabelas has decent wool socks in their outfitter medium wt model at 12.99. smartwools' are nice too, but tend to wear out on my experience a bit faster. bridgedale's can last for Years.
– staying the xuck OUT of truckstop showers, and if you must use them, do as jardine advises and use flip flops .. EVERY TIME.

that is my op, as one who has this vile germ.
heat is bad.
clean is good.
john vonhof (?) the foot book author, writes a fine book on feet care, but seems to miss the point (he's getting better at it though in later editions) that fungus is a very real and very large issue.
a fungus infection can EXplode in as little as TWO hours of hot'ish feet. 2 hrs is only 120 minutes, you need to keep a lid on the thing.
take care,
peter .v

Wow peter vacco..that is some real valuable info..that could really make the difference for some people.

Wool discourages organism growth, which is why merino wool socks don't stink the way cotton or synthetic socks do.

Take your shoes off at every rest stop. Swap socks regularly helps keep feet dry.
Wet socks are more abrasive than dry socks.
Wet skin is less durable and so more susceptible to abrasion and organisms.

You get the idea.

Moisture is as important as heat in causing fungal infections, and way more important in my opine. When you look up prevention, keeping the feet clean and dry is what you will see.

NY Times recently had a short spot on this; my significant other has been doing the garlic/olive oil thing nightly, putting on cotton socks over, then washing feet in the morning. He claims success.

From NYT online:

"scientists found that a garlic solution that contained about 1 percent ajoene [a garlic extract] had a 100 percent cure rate, compared with a 94 percent cure rate for 1 percent Lamisil. Other studies have found similar results.

Ajoene creams and solutions are not available commercially. But some experts recommend simply adding a few finely crushed cloves of garlic to a foot bath and soaking the affected foot for 30 minutes, or mincing a few garlic cloves, mixing the minced garlic with olive oil, and then using a cotton ball to rub some of the solution on the affected area."

That is a multi-use item.

The garlic keeps away vampires.

–B.G.–

What about 100% merino wool dress socks? Has anyone had exerpeicen with these? Smartwool and Darn Tough are only about 70% Merino wool and 25% nylon. Nylon is blamed for breathing badly and holding bacteria and fungus.