trouble with wool socks?

[Beder]

Anybody? After skiing about 50 of the last 60 days I'm getting hot spots on top of my toes--red, itchy, swollen. I put on a clean, thin, merino sock every day. I'm in a close fitting Nordica Speed Machine with Intuitions. No slop. I pull the Intuitions out to dry every night.

It gets pretty moist in there and I'm hoping my skin just isn't liking living with the merino. Any one had this issue and done better with an acrylic sock?

[gaijin]

red, itchy, swollen... eczema? try switching to a poly.

[CookieMonster]

Constant moisture is not good for the feet. My feet sweat massively, and I have to work fairly hard to keep them dry when I'm skiing often. Otherwise I get hot spots, itchy spots, raw spots, etc.

1. Overnight air drying may not be sufficient - I had to start actively drying my boot liners. I place my boot liners into the dryer with three or four towels, and this seems to protect the liners fairly well. I'm not sure if constant heat can degrade the custom fit, but I don't really care because dry liners are better for the feet. You might also try to dry the liners on top of, or near, something warm but not hot. Near a woodstove, fireplace, etc.

2. Buy some spray on antiperspirant and spray your bare feet first, and then spray the socks as well. This should reduce the amount of perspiration from your foot. Be careful, as this could irritate your feet, especially if they're already a bit on edge.

3. Try letting your feet dry off at lunch time and put on dry socks.

4. I had similar irritation/hot spots on my feet and my mother recommended a 20-minute soak in apple cider vinegar. Worked extremely well. However, I don't know if this will work for your feet, and you should be careful when treating anything without a doctor's advice.

5. A polysock is good advice - however my feet don't seem to care about the sock. They're perfectly happy to sweat buckets.

[IrieRon]

I'm really regretting clicking on this thread.

[GeezerSteve]

Might be a fungus among us. Try washing with Dial soap, drying thoroughly and spraying with Tinactin or other athlete's foot antifungal stuff.

Might be the wool. Like gaijin said, try synthetic. (Polyester is most common. Does anyone make polypropylene socks these days?)

CM's suggestion of antiperspirant is a good one. Certain Dri is the industrial strength AP.

My feet sweat like crazy. Not a big deal when I'm lift skiing, but awful when I'm touring, especially on multi-day trips when the liner has no opportunity to dry out. I use VB socks and antiperspirant. My feet get moist but the liners stay dry.

Good luck.

[grskier]

The wool doesn't dry as fast as some other materials, just holds heat even if cold... maybe a blend or something can help you out.

[GeezerSteve]

Nothing will dry out inside a liner inside a plastic boot

[Dromond]

Might be a fungus among us. Try washing with Dial soap, drying thoroughly and spraying with Tinactin or other athlete's foot antifungal stuff.

Might be the wool. Like gaijin said, try synthetic. (Polyester is most common. Does anyone make polypropylene socks these days?)

CM's suggestion of antiperspirant is a good one. Certain Dri is the industrial strength AP.

My feet sweat like crazy. Not a big deal when I'm lift skiing, but awful when I'm touring, especially on multi-day trips when the liner has no opportunity to dry out. I use VB socks and antiperspirant. My feet get moist but the liners stay dry.

Good luck.

No kidding. What sort of VB socks, exactly? I've got the nasty, sweaty feet syndrome as well. It's fine for lift served, ok for cold, winter touring, difficult for warm, spring touring and makes multi-day trips nearly impossible.

[whyturn]

I have been using Euro socks, synthetic. no issues so far. I have a great hookup (almost half price) on two pair deals if you PM me.

I have the compression, great for multi day (5 days straight) and the super thin, they work well.

[PuderLuder]

50 of the last 60 days? Get a job.

PL

[GeezerSteve]

No kidding. What sort of VB socks, exactly? I've got the nasty, sweaty feet syndrome as well. It's fine for lift served, ok for cold, winter touring, difficult for warm, spring touring and makes multi-day trips nearly impossible.

Ya know, I keep promising to start a thread on NWHikers re my 20+ year experimentation with VB garments and, when I do, I'll cross post here.

I've had the best luck with 2mm neoprene socks. I have an old pair that is seamless but I can't find those, so I'm currently using a pair sold by Cabela's with a single seam. The latter work okay, certainly better than conventional ski socks, in keeping sweat from puddling in the bottom of the liner. BTW, I always apply antiperspirant (Certain Dri for multi-day trips) the night before starting a trip, and I always use runner's lube on my heels.

Two more advantages. First, I have never had a blister when wearing the 2mm neoprene sox with runner's lube. Second, VB's are superior in very cold weather.

[avacadotoast]

Its hard diagnosing over the internet but I think you've got eczema. (I've been battling ski boot induced ezcema for about 4 years now) The salt from sweat acts like an irritant and fires up an immune response in your skin.

My advice: Get to a dermatologist and if he/she agrees with my dx then get some kenalog (tiamcinolone) cream, which is a mild steroid cream...use it every day on the hot spots. Keep your feet clean and lubed up with the kenalog and lotion. Shower a lot and use lotion religiously on your whole body too...it's all one organ. If you can find good socks without wool get them. Wash your feet asap after skiing and apply lotion. If you can't get home after skiing bring a wet washcloth in a ziplock and wipe your feet down after skiing, apply some lotion and put on fresh socks.

Mine gets really bad in the spring. Stay on top of it because if you let it get bad it can explode all over your body (a horrible experience) and you'll have to go get shots.

[Beder]

Hey Corky thanks for your thoughtful reply, but holy fucking shit dude--not what I wanted to hear.

Anyway I had this last year at the end of season and then when I stopped skiing it cleared up shortly thereafter.

I dried liners extra dry last night and got some new synthetic socks which I wore over moleskin on the affected spots today. Way less irritation. I'm hopeful. Thanks everyone for your responses.

[avacadotoast]

Hey Corky thanks for your thoughtful reply, but holy fucking shit dude--not what I wanted to hear.

I replied thoughtfully because that shit is the real deal. It's like once you get it bad enough it's engrained in your skin and it becomes a lifetime problem.

Anyway I had this last year at the end of season and then when I stopped skiing it cleared up shortly thereafter.

This tells me it is probably ezcema...very similar but (so far) much more mild than mine. You probably don't need a dermatologist yet, just don't let it go if it gets worse this spring!!

Clean, lotion and fresh socks asap after skiing. Lotion after every shower. Use Dove soap. Bacteria is no good for it either - neosporin on the hot spots helps. I bet giving your feet an oatmeal bath would help.

[gaijin]

I suffer from eczema, hence my earlier reply. It sounds familiar.

Vitamin B complex also helps. Vaseline is an awesome skin protector. Cut down on the alcohol-induced sweating and the salty/fatty foods. Don't be disillusioned into thinking strong soap is better. Mild is key. My eczema cleared up the most when we had a baby and switched to baby-safe products for everything from shampoo, to hand soap, to laundry soap.

Steroids work for the short term but you'll become reliant on them if they are your lotions. Just use vaseline if it doesn't actually itch but is still red/swollen/cracked.

[ratboy]

Seconded on the soaps and cleaners. My wife had suffered from eczema for years until we switched to non-scented eco products. Pretty much disappeared in a week ...