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Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff

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Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here stylish Italian and French dudes have

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Speaker 1: been bearing their ankles for years, and now the sockless

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Speaker 1: trend has reached the fashion mainstream for men on this

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Speaker 1: side of the pond too. But if you're thinking about

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Speaker 1: rocking a pair of loafers sand socks, medical professionals want

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Speaker 1: you to know that you could be putting your feet

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Speaker 1: at risk. For the article this episode is based on

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Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Spoke with Dr John Chisholm, a podiatrist

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Speaker 1: in Chula Vista, California and president of California Pediatric Medical Association. Chisholm,

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Speaker 1: like most foot doctors, is a big fan of socks.

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Speaker 1: He says that socks serve two important functions. They reduce

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Speaker 1: friction between the shoe and the skin, which prevents blisters

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Speaker 1: and abrasions, and they provide a physical barrier between the

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Speaker 1: foot and the microbial petri dish that is a sweaty shoe,

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Speaker 1: and said, if you were to take a screw araping

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Speaker 1: off of a well worn leather shoe, you'd find it's

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Speaker 1: a zoo of microorganisms that can cause disease. In the

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Speaker 1: human foot. He noted that the number one threat is

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Speaker 1: the athletes's foot fungus. A quote it likes places that

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Speaker 1: are dark, warm, and don't have a lot of circulation,

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Speaker 1: like the inside of a shoe. Notes that the athletes'

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Speaker 1: foot fungus is not only the cause of the classic

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Speaker 1: raw scaly patches between toes, but also most toenail fungal outbreaks.

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Speaker 1: Socks can stave off athletes foot in two ways. First,

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Speaker 1: they prevent the fungus from transferring directly from the shoe

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Speaker 1: material to these skin or nail, and second, socks stop

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Speaker 1: sweat from pooling the shoe by absorbing and wicking sweat

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Speaker 1: up the ankle and calf where it can evaporate. So

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Speaker 1: if you ask a pediatrist if it's okay to wear

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Speaker 1: leather dress shoes without socks, they may make a colorful

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Speaker 1: but clear analogy. As Chisholm did. He said, wearing shoes

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Speaker 1: day after day without socks would be like wearing your

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Speaker 1: underwear day after day without washing them. If you're going

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Speaker 1: sockless entirely for fashion reasons, there's a simple solution. No

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Speaker 1: show socks. These extra low cut dress and athletic socks

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Speaker 1: are designed to stay hidden below the shoe line while

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Speaker 1: providing protection against blisters and sweaty feet. Previously only available

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Speaker 1: in smaller or women's sizes, there are now lots of

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Speaker 1: no show socks designed in larger or men's sizes too.

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Speaker 1: But some people just can't stand the feeling of socks

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Speaker 1: on their feet, and since it's not sandal weather year

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Speaker 1: round in most places, you need to learn how to

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Speaker 1: keep those paws healthy inside close toad shoes. The debate

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Speaker 1: over weather socks go with sandals is for another episode

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Speaker 1: or possibly another podcast entirely, so first, a word about

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Speaker 1: shoe powders. Chisholm isn't a fan. He says that a

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Speaker 1: light dusting of talcum powder directly on the foot will

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Speaker 1: keep things dry for a file, but says to never

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Speaker 1: pour powder into the shoe itself. It just piles up

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Speaker 1: and soaks in sweat, trapping it in the shoe. If

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Speaker 1: you're prone to athletes foot, try an anti fungal powder. Next.

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Speaker 1: Keep your sockless shoes on a rotation. She says to

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Speaker 1: give each pair twenty four to forty eight hours to

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Speaker 1: air and dry out between sockless sessions. The longer the

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Speaker 1: rest the better. There are also sterilizing options, from simple

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Speaker 1: disinfecting sprays sold expressly for shoes, not liesol or similar

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Speaker 1: household disinfectants because those are not designed to make contact

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Speaker 1: with skin, to the much fancier and more expensive ultra

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Speaker 1: violet sterilizing devices that are now on the market. Today's

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Speaker 1: episode is based on the article is going Sockless Bad

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Speaker 1: for your feet? On how stuffworks dot Com written by

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Speaker 1: Dave Rouse. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio

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Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and it

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Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio,

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Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. H