The trend of wearing shoes without socks is leading to a rise in cases of problems such as athlete’s foot, the British College of Podiatry has warned.

The “bare ankle” look has filtered down from the catwalk to the most avid followers of fashion, with designers of menswear showcasing their formal attire with sockless models in suits.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have experimented with the style, including Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Orlando Bloom and Jude Law — and online guides on how to go “sockless with style” are littered with advice on how to adopt the look, with helpful pointers such as only doing it with slim tailored trousers.

Yet beyond the inevitable concern of suffering from smelly shoes brought about by a lack of cotton, it appears men are failing to realize some of the more serious repercussions and are seeking out help from podiatrists and chiropodists.

“As a whole, we are seeing more and more men coming to us with issues caused by poorly fitting footwear, and not just ones choosing to go sockless,” said podiatrist Emma Stevenson, from the College of Podiatry.

Feet typically produce half a pint of sweat a day and any moisture, if not soaked up by socks, is maintained in synthetic and non-breathable material — leaving people open to fungal infections.

One way Stevenson recommends solving this issue is by placing dry tea bags in shoes overnight to absorb any leftover sweat, while also suggesting men spray their feet with underarm antiperspirant.

She said, “Depending on the level of sweatiness of the foot, there may be issues with too much moisture in the feet, which can leave you vulnerable to fungal infections such as athlete’s foot.

“Many shoes that are available on the high street today may have leather uppers but are lined in synthetic material, which is not breathable. If the lining is not breathable, then moisture, heat and bacteria will all be trapped inside the shoe.”

Her advice is to give shoes 48 hours to dry out to prevent bacteria breeding. Stevenson, who sits on the council of the College of Podiatry, also points out that ill-fitting footwear and a lack of socks can lead to issues like blisters and the formation of painful corns, calluses and ingrown toenails.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【足病学】zúbìngxué podiatry the care of the human foot, especially the diagnosis and treatment of foot disorders

【水泡】shuǐpào blister a small pocket of body fluid within the upper layers of the skin, caused by rubbing, burning, freezing, chemicals or infection

英国足病学院警告说，时下穿鞋不穿袜的风气导致了“香港脚”等足病的增多。

男装设计师让模特们身着正装，却不穿袜子。这一 “裸踝”之风从T台上刮到了台下，受到了时髦达人的追捧。

包括布莱德利•库珀、瑞恩•高斯林、奥兰多•布鲁姆和裘德•洛在内的一些好莱坞大牌明星，纷纷尝试“裸踝”风格。网上的“无袜时尚”指南也给出了搭配建议，比如只能搭配铅笔裤。

不穿棉袜不可避免地会带来脚臭的困扰，然而，除此之外，男士们似乎没有意识到不穿袜子导致的一些更严重的后果，不得不去看足科医生。

英国足病学院的足科医生艾玛•史蒂芬森说：“总体而言，越来越多的男性前来足科就诊，不光是因为不穿袜子，还有很多人的足病是因为鞋子不合脚导致的。”

一双脚每天要产生半品脱的汗水，如果这些汗没有被袜子吸收，就会留在不透气的人工合成面料里，让人们暴露在真菌感染的风险之中。

史蒂芬森建议，解决这个问题的方法之一是将干茶叶袋放在鞋中一整夜，以吸收前一天渗入鞋中的汗水。同时她也建议男士们往脚上喷腋下止汗剂。

她说：“脚的湿度是否过大取决于脚汗的多少，而湿度过大容易引发真菌感染和香港脚等足病。”

“如今在商业街能买到的许多鞋，鞋面可能是真皮的，但是衬里通常是不透气的人工合成面料。如果衬里不透气，那么水分、湿热和细菌全将困在鞋子里。”

她的建议是，让鞋子通风48小时，防止细菌滋生。不过，作为足病学院委员会的成员，史蒂芬森也指出，不合脚的鞋和不穿袜子还会引发水泡、鸡眼、老茧和趾甲内生。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)