UKH

I have had really nasty eczema on my feet for months. It never occurred to me that my climbing shoes were the problem. Then just wondered a few weeks ago, started wearing socks with climbing shoes, and the problem cleared up. A couple of days ago I forgot to take socks to the wall and climbed without, and for two days I've had prickly, blistered feet again.

Has anyone else had this? It must be the dye. I won't name the shoes, as I don't want to malign the brand - it may just be my peculiar chemistry reacting with the dye. And it is such a nice pair of shoes, too - the best fit I've had.

... This must be at the more ridiculous end of climbing-related problems ! ...

L

In reply to BusyLizzie:
If you're blaming the dye, I think we can all guess what make of shoe.

There's only one brand that comes with free foot colouring!

I realy don't know why they don't use a colourfast dye like everyone else.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Sounds like athletes foot to me, probably due to build up of sweat and bacteria. I used to get really bad athletes foot as a child and my feet would get blistered with it too. Canesten cream works well for it I find.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

How annoying.

Oddly I have really bad eczema on one foot only at the moment. I find soaking in sea salt water helps a little after the initial sting.

I think the initial trigger for mine was having wet feet in wetsuit booties when kayaking. I'm not sure.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I once had this problem with a pair of shoes. I put them in a bucket of water to soak. It looked like I'd slaughtered a pig, but it got rid of the excess dye, (and didn't make a lot of difference to the appearance of the shoes). Coupled with some cream from the doc it solved the problem.

In reply to Howard J:

That is a good wheeze. I was also wondering about putting them in the washing machine; I've done that with climbing shoes before and it doesn't improve their life-expectancy but it does get them really clean.

I'm minded to do both.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Probably more an effect of having sweaty feet than anything else.

In reply to gethin_allen:

And when sweaty feet and hands were distributed, at the dawn of creation, I was standing on the front row.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

It might be the glue. I have a lovely pair of running shoes that I can't wear if I am going for a long walk/run through puddles because, even with socks on, prolonged wet contact brings me up in a hideous red rash. Not a problem with any other shoes. I googled and found out that glue is the usual culprit.

As well as the socks I would take measures to keep your feet dry while you are wearing them.

In reply to Gone:

That makes sense. The rash is on the lower part of the sides of my feet - ie not on top of the feet, which are most in contact with the dyed leather. Glue + sweat = yuk.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I used to have a pair of Scarpas (actually I had several pairs of the same shoe) which turned my feet completely purple but I've never suffered from any foot problems as a result. Great rock shoes too. Never worked out why they stopped making them.

5-10's use synthetic uppers and can be quite sweaty and smelly. Leather shoe uppers will be more breathable so less sweat inducing and less smelly but I think the dye does tend to come out more.

Interesting re the glue - I wouldn't have thought of that either. Socks are probably the answer as you've found out.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

You should have been wearing socks anyhow (super thin for summer and thicker for winter). More comfort, less stink, better midge protection etc and performance issues of going barefoot are overstated fashion nonsense for the avrege punter.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Well, you might get a paper out of it?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15899007

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Don't feel singled out, I've had similar problems with shoes. Most of the ones I buy have an absorbent/wicking pad in the tongue to mitigate these issues.

In reply to BusyLizzie:


This is also the part that would get the most abrasion and the least breathable part of the shoe thanks to the rubber.

I maintain it's just normal sweat rash.

Have you tried giving the shoes a good scrub clean and then when dry a liberal dosing with talk? (it doesn't have to be antifungal athletes foot powder).

In reply to BusyLizzie:

And I let you touch my nuts!!!!! And my cams & 'draws & slings too. But then I do like a little danger & dirt in my life. Roll on May 9th for my next immunity challenge. See you soon Lizzie. Nx

In reply to BusyLizzie:
Yes, I am allergic to dye in the leather, get a very itchy rash exactly where you describe it. It is quite common, also with people who wear fashion shoes without socks (according to my GP) Some dyes contain a lot of chemicals and metals which can cause allergies. Have been wearing socks for years or getting synthetic shoes.

See your GP, they will get you the right cream prescribed.

In reply to buxtoncoffeelover:

Aaaghghgh, that had me laughing out loud in the office...

Lxx

In reply to Jon Read:



Marvellous! However, there is no lichen at the Reading wall so I think that can't be it. Unless there is lichen growing in my shoes ...