By Dr. Evan Lewis, PhD · Last updated August 2026
Bromodosis is the medical word for foot odour. It comes from the Greek for stench, and it describes a smell rather than naming a disease. That distinction is the whole reason the word is useful, because two conditions that do have names get mistaken for it constantly.
What is bromodosis?
Smelly feet, written formally. Nothing more clinical is hiding behind the word. If a page tells you that you have bromodosis, it has told you that your feet smell, which you already knew.
It is pronounced bro-mo-DOH-sis.
Is bromodosis a disease?
No. It is a description, and in most people it is a completely normal outcome of normal skin doing normal things inside a shoe.
The mechanism is well documented. Bacteria on the sole break down amino acids in sweat into isovaleric acid, the sharp cheesy compound people recognise. When researchers sampled different regions of the foot, Staphylococcus made up 98.6% of the bacterial population on the plantar surface, and the isovaleric acid was found there and not detected on the top of the foot at all. The full chain is in why do my feet smell.
Bromodosis or pitted keratolysis?
This is the distinction the word is actually for, and it is a look, not a sniff.
Pitted keratolysis is a named bacterial condition of the outer skin layer, attributed to Kytococcus sedentarius and Corynebacterium species. It leaves clusters of shallow round craters on the sole and under the toes, and the smell is described as pungent, which is a step beyond ordinary foot odour.
The same report notes men are around four times more likely to develop it, attributed to how much time they spend in occlusive footwear, and describes a case in a patient with lifelong sweating of the palms and soles who developed lesions after fifteen consecutive hours in shoes.
The test: look at the sole in good light, ideally after a shower when pits are easiest to see. Normal-looking skin with a strong smell is bromodosis. Visible pits is not, and it is worth showing to a foot care professional.
Bromodosis or athlete's foot?
Also a look. Tinea pedis is a dermatophyte infection that may affect around 10% of the population, and it shows up as peeling, maceration and fissuring between the toes, as scaling across the sole in the moccasin form, or as blisters.
It often does not smell much at all, which surprises people. A strong smell coming off both feet with normal-looking skin is far more likely to be bacterial than fungal. The complete guide to athlete's foot covers each type.
What all three share
Sweat, and hours inside a closed shoe. The clinical reference on tinea is direct about both: the risk of tinea infections is elevated with excessive sweating, and wearing occlusive shoes for extended periods predisposes patients to dermatophyte infections. Pitted keratolysis tracks the same two factors, and bromodosis is simply what those conditions smell like.
That shared root is why odour is worth treating as an early signal rather than a cosmetic nuisance, and it is the argument in does smelly feet mean fungus.
Why the name matters at all
Because searching the right word changes what you find. Type in smelly feet and you get deodorising powders. Type in bromodosis and you get physiology. Type in pitted keratolysis and you get a condition that responds to something else entirely.
The word is worth knowing for one reason: it tells you when you are in the wrong aisle.
Which means two different jobs, not two products
| Approach | What it acts on | Right for | Wrong for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fragranced powder or spray | The smell you notice | A specific occasion, today | Anything with visible skin changes |
| Antiperspirant on the sole | Sweat volume | Heavy sweating | A smell with normal sweating |
| Drying and rotating footwear | The environment | All three of them | Nothing, this is always worth doing |
| A daily routine on the skin | The surface all three share | Ongoing, alongside the above | Anyone wanting a result tonight |
| An appointment | A named condition | Pits, peeling, cracking, broken skin | Nothing, if the skin has changed |
Where our own product sits in that table
Row four, and nowhere else. Sole Shield is two ingredients, iodine and water, with no fragrance in it. It is not a deodorant, it is not an antiperspirant, and it does not replace an appointment.
What it is aimed at is the square of skin all three of these conditions share, plus the inside of the shoe. Iodine has been used on skin since the 1800s and the literature on it is easy to look up. Ours does not sting or stain, which is not true of the decolorized iodine sold in pharmacies, whose FDA-registered label lists 45% alcohol and warns that it will stain skin and clothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is bromodosis?
Bromodosis is the medical term for foot odour, from the Greek for stench. It describes a smell rather than naming a disease. In most people it is the normal result of bacteria on the sole breaking sweat down into isovaleric acid inside a warm, enclosed shoe, and the skin looks entirely normal.
How do you pronounce bromodosis?
Bro-mo-DOH-sis, with the stress on the third syllable. It is occasionally spelled bromhidrosis, which more strictly refers to smelly sweat anywhere on the body rather than specifically on the feet.
Is bromodosis serious?
On its own, no. It is a description of a smell and it occurs on healthy skin. What is worth taking seriously is a strong smell accompanied by visible changes, such as clusters of shallow pits on the sole, peeling or cracked skin between the toes, or any change at all in someone with diabetes.
What is the difference between bromodosis and pitted keratolysis?
Bromodosis is only the smell, on normal-looking skin. Pitted keratolysis is a named bacterial condition attributed to Kytococcus sedentarius and Corynebacterium species that leaves clusters of shallow round craters on the sole and under the toes, with a notably pungent smell. Looking at the sole in good light tells them apart.
Is bromodosis the same as athlete's foot?
No. Athlete's foot is tinea pedis, a fungal infection that may affect around 10% of the population and shows as peeling, maceration and fissuring between the toes or scaling across the sole. It frequently smells very little. A strong smell with normal-looking skin is far more likely to be bacterial.
How do you get rid of bromodosis?
By reducing the two inputs. Fewer hours in the same damp shoe, socks that are dry, careful drying between the toes, and a daily routine on the skin of the sole. Fragranced products cover the smell without changing any of that, which is fine for one evening and does nothing over a month.
Is bromodosis contagious?
The smell is not. What can pass between people is the fungus that thrives in the same warm damp conditions, usually picked up walking barefoot on a shared floor. That is why sharing a bathroom with someone who has athlete's foot matters and sharing one with someone who has bromodosis does not.
IodinePure products are cosmetics listed with Health Canada, for daily foot, skin and nail care alongside professional foot care rather than instead of it. If you have diabetes, poor circulation or broken skin, speak to a clinician first.
