# Survival > Bushcraft Medicine >  Wilderness cure for foot rot

## TresMon

So I live in the forest.

I wear shoes in summer for oh about 4 hours a month?  We had several rains and my feet were wet all day every day for several days in a row.
I ended up with toe rot on both feet.  So what to do?

I know oak barks and hemlock barks in my area have a lot of tannins which is acidic.  So I pounded up a bunch of Hemlock bark and boiled it fiercely- "decocted it."  I also have some Yeller' Dock plant in my area. It's quit antifungal.  I dug up a small yeller dock and chopped up the whole plant. I boiled it down too.

I soaked my feet in the tea for about 30 minutes before bed.  The next morning my toes had scabbed up and were not bothering me where previously they had been painfully cracked, hurting and burning.

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## Wildthang

Thanks Tres, that is good stuff to know! I have never had foot rot, but it is good to know the cure!

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## hunter63

So I gonna say that this is considered a cure......works?

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## Rick

Immersion foot (trench foot, paddy foot), if that's what you had, is about the skin breaking down from being constantly wet. Not from infections, which are secondary to the actual problem. If you continue to keep your feet wet then the goo you conjured up will only be a short term fix. For warm water immersion, I assume that's what we're talking about, it's common for the feet to improve in one day if they are allowed to dry. So the goo might only be anecdotal and the real healing came from being dry. The common thinking is 24 hours of dry feet for every 48 hours of immersion to keep your feet healthy. Your diet as well as smoking and drinking can create longer healing times. 

I've posted this two or three times before but it is the most definitive write up I've ever seen on immersion foot. 

http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/...tology/Ch4.pdf

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## TresMon

something was _eating_ my foot.  Should I have called it athletes foot instead of "foot rot"  as it did not clear up after my feet were dry for a long while...

Thanks for the link Rick.

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## Rick

Nope. Just trying to help. I was just leveraging off the fact they had been wet. It could certainly have been a fungus, bacteria or, more scientifically, creeping crud. What ever it was I'm glad you got healed up.

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## Sarge47

In Vietnam I believe that they called that "jungle rot."  Foot powder was issued to help prevent that if memory serves me right.     :Nod:

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## Kamel

I haven't worn socks since 8th grade. im 23 now.

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## Rick

We've been meaning to talk to you about that, too.

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## pete lynch

> I haven't worn socks since 8th grade. im 23 now.


But how old were you in 8th grade? Maybe you were held back a couple of times and that could throw off the time span of socklessness.  :Wink:

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## Rick

Muhahahahaha. Bad puppy. Kennel.

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## Sarge47

> I haven't worn socks since 8th grade. im 23 now.


Now it's time to reconsider Kamel.  When out in the woods your feet are your primary means of transportation and require constant proper care.  Socks help in several ways.  They can help relieve the stress of the pounding that your feet will take on a long hike, adsorb excess moisture, and help prevent blisters!   :Nod: 

At the end of the day you can take them off and hang them over your tent to help keep bears out!     :2:

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## BENESSE

Hey, even Cody wears socks.
Personally, (if I have a choice) I wouldn't do anything that might get me in deeper $hit than it's worth. Any kind of foot trouble could derail you in a big way and if you ever watched Gone With the Wind, amputating with a saw and just a little hooch to numb the mind is not my cup of tea. Call me a sissy.

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## wildWoman

Walking barefoot as much as you can prevents a lot of these issues and helps heal many of these conditions.

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## BENESSE

> Walking barefoot as much as you can prevents a lot of these issues and helps heal many of these conditions.


True...but it all depends on the conditions. Wet feet for several days in a row, as Tres discovered, wasn't exactly a good idea.

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## Wildthang

I have heard that simply letting the sun shine on a lot of types of fungus helps greatly.

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## Sparky93

> I have heard that simply letting the sun shine on a lot of types of fungus helps greatly.


That makes sense, since UV radiation kills bacteria. You can also use the sun to purify water in plastic bottles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection

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## karatediver

I was told that urine can help get rid of athlete's foot.  I'm assuming using your own.  I don't really want to pee on myself but if it works and I needed to it's there.

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## finallyME

Vinegar is a great remedy.  It is 5% acetic acid.  I am sure that citric acid would work as well.  Soak your feet in lemon juice.  In fact, any acid will probably work.  I still need to learn more about what in nature is acidic. Thanks Tresmon for the report.

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## Kamel

Ive never had athletes foot either. i used to walk barefoot everywhere too build up calluses. But yah socks do help but i think my feet are resistant to blisters lol. I used to work construction in Doc Martens with no socks, and I did get jungle rot, cause I had to walk thru some ditches that were watery, and my feet turned a blueish green. that was interesting.

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## TresMon

> Walking barefoot as much as you can prevents a lot of these issues and helps heal many of these conditions.


I'm sure their will not be many takers here but...

I have found that going bare footed is WAY better than wearing modern footwear, weather permitting. Benefits:
1. Makes you slow down a bit- this is good in the woods for awareness/observation & this is GREAT for those in the TAL* as we Americans in generally live way to fast
2. It's FAR MORE gentler on your body. As the soles of your feet toughen and callouse you slowly get past the whole "watch your step.watch your step.watch your step" mantra and you naturally get into a walking position and gait that is quite springy & fluid- far easier on the joints than the standard TAL* gait.

When I do wear shoes I tend to fall back into the TAL gait and I can (now) feel the banging in my ankles, knee's and hip joints........


* T ypical
  A merican
  L ifestyle

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## Rick

I can't imagine dipping my tootsie toes in vinegar or lemon juice with red, swollen and cracked skin. 

"The most powerful liquid in the world is Holy Water. Sprinkle a couple of drops on a pregnant woman's tummy and she'll pass a baby boy."
"Nu uh. Turpentine is. Sprinkle a couple of drops of turpentine on a cat's azz and he'll pass a motorcycle."
"I got you both beat. Ever tried vinegar on athlete's foot"?
In unison..."Ooooh. you win."

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## hunter63

As I do get a bout of gout from time to time, it does seem that any injury to the foot is where it wants to set up shop, this time.

Close as I get to bare feet these days are hide moc's, but not too good on sneaking up on thing with all the ..."oo,ow, ah, oo, ow,heck darn, phooey, oh shucky darn...oo ow.
You get the picture.
glad to hear you are on the mend.....

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## randyt

I'm going to catch heck for this but I heard that the uric acid in urine toughens up the skin on the feet. Don't know if it a for real fact so experiment at your own risk.

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## Rick

I've actually done that a time or two. Of course, beer was involved.

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## wildWoman

> I'm sure their will not be many takers here but...
> 
> I have found that going bare footed is WAY better than wearing modern footwear, weather permitting. Benefits:
> 1. Makes you slow down a bit- this is good in the woods for awareness/observation & this is GREAT for those in the TAL* as we Americans in generally live way to fast
> 2. It's FAR MORE gentler on your body. As the soles of your feet toughen and callouse you slowly get past the whole "watch your step.watch your step.watch your step" mantra and you naturally get into a walking position and gait that is quite springy & fluid- far easier on the joints than the standard TAL* gait.
> 
> When I do wear shoes I tend to fall back into the TAL gait and I can (now) feel the banging in my ankles, knee's and hip joints........
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, that's true. A friend of mine just wrote a book about barefoot walking and the physician, soccer trainers and chiropractors she interviewed for it all said that it really helps with posture problems, knee, hip and tendon issues. Just about all shoes have a built up heel which pushes the pelvis forward, which in turn makes ou curve your spine to counterbalance.
I find walking without shoes impractical out here in the bush, though - we have so many wild roses growing everywhere that I just end up with a thorn collection in my feet. And I find I need to concentrate too much on where to step, while I should be paying attention to 50 yards ahead to find a route, plus be checking for animal sign and keeping an eye on my dogs. Ultra simple moccasins (just soft leather, no extra sole) might be a good compromise.

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## BENESSE

After reading the book "Born to Run", I have changed my footware to (e.g.Saucany Hittori Minimalist) _minimal_. Not quite ready for barefoot running (I'm a sissy), this is the next best thing. A couple of my friends are ultra (50+miles), barefoot runners and their foot injury has been kept to a minimum (surprise of all surprises!) while their time has actually improved. 

I highly recommend this book even if you're not a runner. It's factual, empowering and it speaks to the bare, natural survivor and runner in us all.

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## TresMon

I'm not scared of P.  I have used it for a skin warsh in the past. I have used it to rid me of Poison Ivy and I always used to P on me feet in the shar when I was working out at the gym twice a day and didn't know who had tracked in what on their bare feet

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## Sarge47

> I'm not scared of P.  I have used it for a skin warsh in the past. I have used it to rid me of Poison Ivy and I always used to P on me feet in the shar when I was working out at the gym twice a day and didn't know who had tracked in what on their bare feet


As long as you're not drinking it you should be okay!      :W00t:

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## BENESSE

First and only time I used P was when I was 9 yrs. old. I got some ink on my white shirt and remembered reading how P could get it out. I tried it and it worked like a charm.

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## crashdive123

It works great on jelly fish stings, but don't confuse p&jf with pb&j....just sayin.

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## Ted

Yep, Tesmon a Wild Woman are correct sirs! Fact is if you didn't wear 'em you wouldn't need em! Climate pemiting of course. Actually same goes for clothing!!!!! If your skins exposed regularly to the sun you don't  need sun sceen!

Now back to origanal post. I'm going to do something I don't do very often here.....you get some rep!!!!!

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## Ted

Wild Womens way over do for some rep too! For everything I've ever seen her post! And she is without a doubt the coolest women I ever read......LOL!

I been meaning to ask you Wild Women you got a twin about 50ish.......LOL!

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## wildWoman

> I been meaning to ask you Wild Women you got a twin about 50ish.......LOL!


Not that I know...and it's probably better that way.  :Wacko:

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## Ted

> Not that I know...and it's probably better that way.


Thats the first thing I've seen you post that dosn't make any sense at all!!!!!!

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## wildWoman

Oh, but it does! The world can only take so many boneheaded, cantankerous women. Think Sourdough, the female version with treehugger genes thrown in - it ain't pretty  :Creepy:

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## Rick

I prefer loose fit jeans. I've never seen the tree hugger kind. I have seen the hip hugger kind, if that's similar. Oh, yeah, I've seen a lot of falling off their azz jeans, too. Every time I see a pair of jeans riding south of the Mason Dixon line I'm thinkin' wedgie.

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