So after riding without socks and having a nasty blister on my foot for a couple days it got me in trouble. Ended up in the ER last night with a foot infection and a redline running up my leg. On some nasty antibiotics now. So what to do about my shoes? How can I clean them? Water and bleach spray?
I would buy some new shoes.
I would buy some new shoes.
I’m not normally a “throw it away” person, but in this case - get a new pair.
Ok, but do I continue to ride sockless? If so how do I clean them. I should specify it was not staph.
Do you race without socks?
Do you race without socks?
Yes, ride and run
.
Bleach.
As a dude with cursed feet, I have a bit of first-hand experience with foot maladies.
First, your shoes don’t fit. You should never get a blister in cycling shoes. So, ditch your original shoes and buy shoes that fit you.
If you really want to keep them, then just give them a bleach blast and be done with it.
Blister is actually unrelated to bike shoes. Just think biking the past couple days and how nasty they are may have played a role in the infection.
Aaaah, never mind then. I would bleach the shoes and be done. But, the infection could have come from anything your exposed blister contacted, so go after everything else too.
Bleach can be damaging to fabrics and will likely change some colors. Put them in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer for a day or two to murder that bacteria/fungus. Then spray your shoes once a week with Lysol.
For disinfecting. Isopropyl alcohol works pretty well, too. Safer for clothing (compared to bleach), and you don’t have to rinse it out. It’ll evaporate.
Thanks. All good ideas. I’ll do it all! Nothing like an round of stomach alternating antibiotics to freak a person out.
Wash them in the dishwasher.
I throw my cycling shoes in the washing machine to or three times a year. They still last a few years.
Not the dryer
I take mine into the shower with me about every 2 weeks. I will hand wash them with the shampoo I use to remove chlorine from my hair from swimming. Lather, rinse, repeat… Then put them in the garage with a fan blowing at them for a day. Next day, back to riding again.
FYI freezing doesn’t kill bacteria, it just makes it dormant, and will typically reactivate once warmed. The right amount of heat will be bactericidal but I’m not sure about damage to your shoes (e.g. dishwasher).
Make sure you keep your shoes dry, hand wash periodically with a detergent, and use a disinfectant spray for your shoes (antifungal if needed).
A tablespoon of bleach in a gallon of water in a bucket. Dunk overnight. No worries. Wait, still worried? Ok, two tablespoons…
How do you know that it’s not staph?
I’m an infectious disease specialist and I treat cellulitis all day long. Most cellulitis is caused by skin bacteria (staph or strep), especially for someone like you. I’m assuming you are an otherwise health adult. My patients with poorly controlled diabetes, poor vascular issues, immunocompromised, etc. are ones with the atypical bugs. Also if you’ve had exposure to atypical bugs like from open water. Wound cultures don’t always mean a whole lot and are often times negative.
For most of my health adults, it’s just bad luck to get cellulitis. Our immune system takes care of it with breakage of the skin. One recent case I had was a younger lady 30-40s who had a bad case of necrotizing fasciitis that required multiple surgeries by the trauma surgeon. The likely cause was from her waxing her legs. The bug was group A strep, the same one that causes strep throat.
I wouldn’t go too crazy with your shoes unless it’s being exposed to weird elements (sewage). Best thing to do is avoid breakage in the skin. If that happens, then take care of it . Just keep it clean (i.e. tap water and mild soap or if your super OCD saline or sterile water, NO hydrogen peroxide, and protect it. I’m not a fan of topical antibiotics). There’s a possibility that you are colonized with staph aureus. I do have a small group patients who get recurrent staph infections (usually boils, folliculitis, and cellulitis). If forgot the percentage, maybe 10% of people are chronically colonized with staph aureus (MRSA falls under this). I put them through a decolonization protocol.
How do you know that it’s not staph?
I’m an infectious disease specialist and I treat cellulitis all day long. Most cellulitis is caused by skin bacteria (staph or strep), especially for someone like you. I’m assuming you are an otherwise health adult. My patients with poorly controlled diabetes, poor vascular issues, immunocompromised, etc. are ones with the atypical bugs. Also if you’ve had exposure to atypical bugs like from open water. Wound cultures don’t always mean a whole lot and are often times negative.
For most of my health adults, it’s just bad luck to get cellulitis. Our immune system takes care of it with breakage of the skin. One recent case I had was a younger lady 30-40s who had a bad case of necrotizing fasciitis that required multiple surgeries by the trauma surgeon. The likely cause was from her waxing her legs. The bug was group A strep, the same one that causes strep throat.
I wouldn’t go too crazy with your shoes unless it’s being exposed to weird elements (sewage). Best thing to do is avoid breakage in the skin. If that happens, then take care of it . Just keep it clean (i.e. tap water and mild soap or if your super OCD saline or sterile water, NO hydrogen peroxide, and protect it. I’m not a fan of topical antibiotics). There’s a possibility that you are colonized with staph aureus. I do have a small group patients who get recurrent staph infections (usually boils, folliculitis, and cellulitis). If forgot the percentage, maybe 10% of people are chronically colonized with staph aureus (MRSA falls under this). I put them through a decolonization protocol.
Well now I’m freaked out.I was only told by the doctor about the strep bacteria. Hence why I said not staff. They put me on clindamycin for 7 days. Saw so pretty much immediate results with the first dose. Now I’m just worried about my stomach and not ending up with all the horrible stuff I’m reading about from the antibiotics.I’m the kind of person that antibiotics typically cause nasty constipation.but sounds like this one has the potential to go to the other direction if you can offer any advice I’m only in the beginning of day 3 so far no ill-effects