Unpleasant and stinking hosts

Background Feet can suffer of several pathologies due to bacteria/fungal infections. Discomfort can be determinate by uncomfortable/tight shoes which can injure the feet and by the increase of bacteria/fungi due a reduction of the escape of the sweat into the air. Good hygiene is the first step in maintaining the feet in good health. While socks can easily be washed and disinfected, shoes, in many case, can not. For this reason procedures and substances which can hygienize the inner part of the shoes are a relevant aspect of primary prevention against foot infections and from strong odor.The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a hygienic compound for shoes in the reduction of bacteria/fungi contamination. Methods This is an ongoing study in which few subjects are treating for 5 consecutive days one of their shoes, with a natural guar compound for reducing the load of bacteria, and did not treat the other shoes.An overall of 40 samples per shoe have been collected and investigations have been conducted on overall bacteria count at 22 and 36 C°, and for Staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa(PA), Enterococci (Ent), Escherichia Coli (EC), and fungi. The Wilcoxon matched pair test was used to assess statistical differences (p<0.05) between the treated/not treated shoes. Results Early results showed a decrease of the bacteria/yeasts and molds counts in the treated shoes compared to the untreated ones in all the comparisons. Reduction was statistical significant for overall bacteria count at 22 C°(p=0.043), 36 C°(p=0.043) and for Coliforms (p=0.0422). Reduction was obtained also on molds (p=0.0782), ranging from 3 to 0 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)\0.1ml for the treated shoes versus 42 to 13 CFU\0.1ml, on the untreated ones. EC decreased (p=0.0897), the treated shoes had a maximum of 2 CFU\0.1ml versus a mean of 18 CFU\0.1ml on the untreated shoes. PA was not found in any shoes. Conclusion The intervention can reinforce personal hygiene in reducing bacteria/fungi contamination. It could be useful i)to study a larger population to obtain more stable results, ii)to verify the possible advantages on people which are at higher risk/consequences of feet infection, such diabetes patients and iii)to estimate the cost/benefits of such intervention. Keywords: shoes, contamination