So i was looking up foot issues and came across this site.

Trench Foot

Exposure to damp, cold conditions can result in tissue damage of the foot. This condition is called trench foot, immersion foot, chillblains or pernio. The mechanism of tissue damage is not fully understood. Damage occurs to soft tissue cell, blood vessels and nerves. The longer the exposure to cold, the greater the chance of injury. Injury may be temporary or may result in permanent damage particularly to the nerves of the feet. Chillblains is used to describe permanent symptoms following one or more incidents of trench foot.

Trench foot injuries are sustained in temperatures ranging from 32-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Trench foot differs from frostbite in that frostbite is the actual freezing of cells at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Another difference between trench foot and frostbite is that frostbite can easily occur in the absence of moisture.

The symptoms of trench foot include burning and tingling of the feet. Loss of sensation is common. The effected potions of the foot and toes can appear cyanotic (gray) and blotchy. When warming the feet after cold exposure, burning can become severe. Maceration and fissures of the skin are common. Blisters, erythema (redness) and skin that peels are also common with repeated exposure to the cold.

The term immersion foot is used to describe both cold and warm weather injuries. Warm water immersion foot and tropical immersion foot describe two clinical types of tissue damage that occur with prolonged exposure to moisture. Warm water immersion foot can occur in folks with excessive perspiration who work in enclosed rubber boots. Warm water immersion foot and tropical immersion foot symptoms include painful thickening and maceration of the skin of the bottom of the foot. Warm water immersion foot and tropical immersion foot is most common in adolescents and young adults.

Quite often we'll see that a person's occupation contributes to warm water immersion foot. Workers who wear boots, particularly rubber boots and insulated boots, are most susceptible to trench foot and warm water immersion foot. The jungles of Vietnam and combat boots were a 'shoe in' for tropical immersion foot.

Treatment of trench foot and immersion foot

Prevention becomes the key in treating trench foot and immersion foot. Limiting exposure to cold is essential in preventing and treating trench foot. Maintaining a dry environment within the shoe is a must. Controlling hyperhydrosis (excessive perspiration) can help. Remember, when treating hyperhydrosis this condition can not be cured, but rather needs to be managed over a patient's lifetime. Some of the methods used to treat hyperhydrosis are really quite simple. Create and environment in the shoe that is cool, dry and accessible to UV light. Try these four simple tricks;

1. Rotate your shoes every other day to allow them to dry thoroughly.
2. Avoid synthetic materials like rubber or vinyl, wear leather or cloth that can absorb moisture.
3. Frequent changes of socks to wick away moisture.
4. Use talc or baby powder daily to wick away moisture.

Drying agents are useful to help control perspiration. Aluminum chloride is the most commonly used topical drying agent. Formalin is used in other prescription strength medications. Antihistamine and anticholinergic medications are used in severe cases. These medications include Benadryl, Banthine or Pro-Banthine.

Severe cases of hyperhydrosis can also be treated with injections or surgery. Recently, injections of Botox, or attenuated botulism, has been used very successfully by podiatrists and dermatologists. Botox is used to paralyze the smooth muscle that regulates the sweat gland. Endoscopic excision of the dorsal root ganglion is a method used by neurosurgeons to create surgical anhydrosis by surgically removing that component of the nervous system responsible for autonomic functions.

Upon reading this i will be adding 7 pair of socks to the BOB and i already have a pair of crocks i keep in my bob for shoe rotation.


Your feet are your life, if you cannot walk you cannot survive, plus infection will keep you weak and will hurt your moral.

normally, I don't think much about foot stuff (lol), and as soon as I started reading this, my thoughts led to "jungle rot" and "althletes foot" and I might have treated the condition the same as athletes foot, which is a fungus. Thanks for posting this.

Ocala wrote:Upon reading this I will be adding 7 pair of socks to the BOB...

Myself was thinking I might wear stilts, but with my luck they'd probably get dry rot, lol.

Ok see i was watching "I should not be alive" or something of that nature. Anyways 4 guys went into the rain forrest and less than 7 days hiking one had (trench foot / jungle rot) so bad he could not walk needless to say only 2 made it out of the 4 alive.


This is what made me look into this. I do walk bare foot alot too so i think my feet can withstand a little more than normal.

My every day socks, may be worn out a little, and It drives my wife crazy.... because I have 6 brand new, pre powered socks in my BOB. So important.
2 pair X 3 days. get em ready!