If you are really homeless and live in a humid place in the South like North Carolina (like us), you know what I’m talking about - the pruned skin on your feet that causes nerve pain and that horrid smell… it’s trench foot!

It won’t necessarily kill you, but trench foot will definitely make your life difficult if you are unlucky enough to develop it on the streets. It’s gross, painful, and it can be embarrassing to deal with, especially when you know how bad your feet smell and you are in public. I have been on the bus before and felt like I could kill the entire load of passengers just by taking my shoes off and exposing my feet.

If you ended up here by doing a Google search or some other method of researching a solution to trench foot, you may be wondering - is there anything I can do to make my feet feel better or prevent this gross foot syndrome? Well, lucky for those of you who are seeking answers for dealing with this nasty affliction of the feet and skin, I have dealt with this ailment on almost a weekly basis with every rain storm we get here in the south and I have found out a method of care and prevention that works if you follow it carefully!

With the care and touch from a woman who worked in Harm Reduction and insight from the guy who can’t take his own advice and ends up with trench foot all the time, we bring to you our Trench Foot Care and Prevention Guide!

First, Understanding Trench Foot and It’s History

Before we get any further, let’s go ahead and define trench foot (aka immersion foot) and explain what causes it. According to the National Library of Medicine:

Trench foot is caused by prolonged exposure to a cold temperature that is usually above freezing and damp, sometimes unsanitary conditions. The condition ultimately causes skin and tissue breakdown which increases the risk of infection and increases associated morbidity and mortality.

Trench foot has its origins in the First World War, and in the sense of the basic sense, records even as far back as Napoleon’s 1812 retreat from Russia describe the symptoms of immersion foot. Soldiers in the First Great Modern War our world has ever seen first experienced trench foot, well from standing in water-logged and cold trenches. This was a serious problem soldiers had to worry about - alongside being torched with their entire company by flamethrowers while standing in said trenches. Such were the times of the World War I.

It is not to be taken lightly as it contributed to the deaths of nearly 2,000 Americans and about 75,000 British troops during the war. You can rest easy knowing that the identification, treatment, and prevention of trench foot have become more widespread and common knowledge in today’s modern medicine world.

Even though we are not medical professionals (you should always consult a medical professional if your symptoms are severe, immediately), we can provide a general guide for identifying, treating, and preventing trench foot that will come in handy for you some day!

What it looks like…

You may be homeless, work in wet and cold conditions, be camping for an extended period of time, or whatever reason you are in cold and wet places for extended period of times - it is not uncommon for you to develop trench foot for reasons that are not even your fault. There is no shame in identifying a problem and taking care of it, no matter how gross or smelly it is. Here are some basic symptoms that you may have when you are developing trench foot:

• Rotted, putrid smell of rotting and pruny skin
• Deep wounds from rubbing your feet in wet socks and walking for 12+ hours in same pair of wet shoes
• Inability to put pressure on the balls of your feet/heels due to nerve pain

We also have included a few pictures of what Trench Foot looks like so you can compare your own owies with the owies of official Trench Foot research websites.

What it feels like…

The beginning of trench foot includes a painful tingling sensation that you will notice after an extended time standing on your feet. When we panhandle in wet weather, our socks and shoes get soaked and we stand in one spot a lot and also walk up and down alongside traffic, which rubs the socks and shoes against the bottoms of your feet. You will notice the pruny skin and erosion of the skin that pads the foot in the balls of your feet and by your toes. It does not take long to feel painful.

Usually you will notice the pain the first day, and even worse the next day. If you do not treat and wrap your feet, it will hurt very badly and you will regret ever going out on your feet ever again without taking care of them after wet and cold weather hits.

That is why we must take care of trench foot when we first experience it and make ourselves feel better.

Second, Treat Trench Foot Immediately

We must take care of Trench Foot and remove it before we can prevent ourselves from getting it again. Do this right now and immediately relieve the symptoms mentioned in the previous section to reduce pain. It will take longer for you to completely get rid of trench foot, but some relief can occur fairly quickly.

Remove Shoes and Feet From Wet Socks,

We must take care of the biggest contributor to all of the pain on your body. The wet shoes and socks rub against your wet and pruny skin to wear off the protective skin layers on your feet until nerve endings are exposed. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but we will also want to let our feet dry out by sleeping without socks or anything if at all possible. If it is too cold for you to sleep without socks, at least put on a new dry pair of socks with some type of drying powder - we recommend this brand which you can buy here.

Wash Your Feet, Antibiotics, and Wrap Feet

It is likely your feet smell horrible, so please do this for yourself and your partner. Wash your feet with good smelling body wipes or wash with warm water and soap - whatever you got available. You should also put on some foot powder and spray at some point in the process, we give some recommendations for good products throughout the article.

After drying your feet, gently rub on some antibiotic ointment to help heal the wounds that expose the nerves on your feet. Cover the antibiotic gel with bandaids and/or gauze pads. Wrap your feet with pre-wrap lightly, but tight enough to provide support to your feet. Be careful to not wrap too tight because you don’t want to cut off the flow of blood to your toes - they will be asleep when you wake up with wrap on in the morning or after spending a day walking with the wrap on your feet.

Third, Prevent Trench Foot From Coming Back

Prevention is the best way to not have to experience trench foot. Follow these simple steps to make sure that Trench Foot never comes back - or better yet: never get Trench Foot in the first place!

New Socks Every Day & Keep Shoes Dry

Don’t let them get pruny and smelly in the first place. A lot of fancy feet care practices aren’t really realistic for us on the street, but we can also get two pairs of shoes from Goodwill and always make sure to rotate in a dry pair. Surely, you can afford that - if not see your panhandling post here to learn how to make some money.

You can also receive a lot of fresh pairs of socks if you fly a sign - people love to drop off care packages and they often include socks. Or, head over to the Dollar Tree and get a 3-pair of socks for $1.25. We also have the Weisbum brand socks coming soon from our print-on-demand store so stay tuned for how you can purchase a pair of socks for a homeless person with every purchase that you make!

Take Pressure Off Feet

You can also take pressure off of your feet by sleeping an adequate amount each night - for us, that’s usually 8-12 hours a night. That might not be as much for you, but you should have plenty of time to sleep if you have no job. It’s great for your immune system and it also allows your beat up feet to heal when you rest up. Sweet dreams!

Oh, and you can also alternate the way you walk or help your feet by using good walking shoes with good support and soles. This will help take pressure off them when you walk 20 + miles a day like we sometimes do.

Wash Your Feet and Use Powder

Again, take a little time to bath and wash yourself - especially your feet - at least once or twice a week. It is a myth that you need to shower everyday to stay clean. But do it enough so that you keep yourself safe from much more than just Trench Foot.

You also should be proactive in preventing trench foot if you are more susceptible to wet and cold conditions, standing on your feet all day, and live in possibly unsanitary conditions. Here are a few of our favorites that we recommend that you try:

• Duke Cannon Boot and Foot Powder ($44.00) and the Duke Cannon Boot and Foot Powder Spray ($16.99)

• Gold Bond Medicated Foot Powder - 10 oz. Bottle ($15.67)

• Body Glide Anti-Blister Balm ($8.99)

• Carpe Antiperspirant Foot Lotion ($17.96)

Conclusion: Jesus Washed the Feet of His Servants

Umm, we’re not sure what that has to do with anything, but Jesus even watched the stinky feet of his servants! So don’t hesitate to wash your feet, or the feet of your partners (as we do for romantic nights - just kidding) and reap the benefits of having dry, clean, and non-painful feet. If you follow our simple guide, we promise you will not suffer the hell of Trench Foot.

We appreciate you reading our guide on dealing with trench foot and hope it helps you feel better and avoid trench foot in the future. Please share this article if you liked and feel free to donate to our cause to help us bring you more awesome content like this and help us get into a better situation so we don’t have to worry about trench foot!

Check out the next section for more information on all the products mentioned in this article and how you can save on Amazon Prime Memberships with government benefits, get deals if you are a student, or get a free trial to Amazon Prime!

Products Mentioned in This Article and Great Amazon Deals!

Check out this complete list of items mentioned in this article to buy what you need to take of your trench foot now!

• Globe Essential Antibiotic Oil ($11.87)
• Nexcare Waterproof Bandages ($9.99)
• Large Sterile Gauze Wound Pads - 1000 Count ($18.99)
• Duke Cannon Boot and Foot Powder ($44.00)
• Duke Cannon Boot and Foot Powder Spray ($16.99)
• Gold Bond Medicated Foot Powder - 10 oz. Bottle ($15.67)
• Body Glide Anti-Blister Balm ($8.99)
• Carpe Antiperspirant Foot Lotion ($17.96)

Making a purchase of any of these products helps us out as we are Amazon Affiliates and we earn a percentage of any sales made through our links by recommending these products. We have more great savings if you have government benefits too!

Do you want to earn free shipping on your products from a discounted Amazon Prime membership? Get a 30 day free trial and then pay only $6.99 a month after that when you register for an Amazon Prime Account and link your EBT, SNAP, or other government assistance to your account! You probably qualify for some time of program if you are homeless, so this deal is great for you to receive Amazon Prime benefits like free shipping, discounted pricing, and access to Amazon Prime Video and more. Subscribe to our link to help us out while we help you get great prices from Amazon!

Don’t have benefits? Students get a free 6-month trial with our link and you can also sign up for a free trial with Amazon Prime here to help us out as well.