Airports. Don't walk barefoot through security...Here is why!-by Dr. Joseph E. Mechanik
posted: Dec. 27, 2022.
Every time I go through airport security, I am truly shocked at the number of people walking through the TSA security line with no socks, just their bare feet…exposed. I think by now, we know our shoes have to come off for security checks. You take your shoes off and put them in the plastic tub to be scanned. Then you walk along with your belongings, totally barefoot, walking in the same barefoot steps as thousands of people before you. You finally get to push your belongings through X-ray. Then there is the body scan. What does the TSA agent tell you? “Put your feet on the two yellow foot prints in the body scan machine and don’t move”. After you are cleared by TSA, you then take your bare feet and your journey continues on the of pathway of thousands of bare feet. You grab your belongings and then walk to finally sit down to put your shoes on your bare feet. People have no idea what they can catch or give to some innocent traveler, from their feet. A few common skin conditions your bare feet easily catch by walking through airport security barefoot, Athlete’s Foot, toenail/skin fungus., Plantar Warts. My take home message is a simple one, don’t go through airport security barefoot. Always remember to go through security with socks covering the bottom of your feet. If you are wearing “no sock shoes”, carry a pair of socks you can easily slip on while going through security. These skin conditions are easy to catch and difficult to resolve.