Soft corn

[Ouch]

I have a soft corn between my little toe and 4th toe. It stays moist and depending on what shoes I'm wearing, hurts like hell. Anyway, something else it the smell. It's not a normal stinky feet smell, it's what I imagine that rawting flesh would smell like. Anyone has this issue?

[FootDoc]

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Assuming that your self-diagnosis is correct and that you DO have a soft corn . . first a little background. A soft corn, just like any corn on a toe is the result of intermittent pressure, generally on an underlying bony prominence, to which the body responds by building up a layer of dead keratotic tissue. A soft corn is called "soft" because in many instances the moisture between the toes causes the keratosis to become soft and mushy. These corns can be particularly painful and generally result from bony prominence on adjacent toes continually rubbing together, generally from lateral compression by the shoe, whereas corns on the top of the toes are usually the result of the toe-box of the shoe rubbing on a bony prominence, often having resulted positionally from a hammertoe deformity. Because of the moisture between the toes which often devitalizes skin tissue, so-called soft corns are particularly subject to ulceration and ensuing bacterial infection, which is very possibly the genesis of the condition and the smell you report.

I would highly recommend that you seek professional care to evaluate and treat this situation, as the risk of severe infection may be great. Especially but not exclusively, if you have either circulatory insufficiency or sensory deficit, this condition can be devastating. The price you will pay for a real professional evaluation is nothing compared to the cost both in dollars and in your general health and well-being if you have an infection brewing and do not have it treated in a timely manner.

For that reason, I will not even go into possible treatments for soft corns, as I am concerned that it will delay a needed evaluation. But I will also make you aware that forums such as this are rarely appropriate for either definitive diagnosis or treatment recommendation which might be assumed to pertain to anyone's individual situation.