Rain & Flood-Water Skin and Foot Care in Bangladesh (Monsoon 2026)

The short answer

After walking through rain or flood water, three things matter most: as soon as you get home, wash your feet and any wet skin with clean water and a mild soap, dry them completely including between the toes, and take off wet shoes and socks. If you have a cut, clean it and cover it. On rainy days, wear waterproof sandals instead of closed shoes, and if you are prone to athlete’s foot, use an anti-fungal powder between the toes. See a doctor without delay if redness spreads, pus forms, a wound will not heal or you develop a fever.

Why flood water is a skin problem

In the monsoon, many roads in Mirpur, Shantinagar, Malibagh and Old Dhaka go under water after a few hours of rain. The same happens in Agrabad in Chattogram and low-lying parts of Sylhet. This water is not just rainwater. It mixes with drain and sewer water, rubbish, oil and germs.

Walking through it, then sitting through work or class in wet shoes, can lead to:

• Fungal infection between the toes: white, soft, split skin, itching and odour (athlete’s foot). Fungus grows fastest in damp, dark, warm places.
• Itching and rashes from dirty water and wet clothes rubbing, especially around the ankles and below the knees.
• Infected cuts and wounds. Broken glass, nails or bricks under the water are invisible, and even a tiny cut can get infected in contaminated water.
• Nail infections. Skin around the nails can swell and redden if it stays wet repeatedly.

What to do when you get home

1. Wash straight away. Use clean water and a mild soap or body wash on your feet, soles, ankles and any skin the water touched. Avoid harsh detergent soaps and hot water, which crack the skin and raise the risk further.
2. Dry completely. Pat dry with a separate towel, and dry between every toe individually. If needed, sit with your feet bare under a fan for a few minutes.
3. Take off wet shoes and socks. Wash the socks separately. Stuff newspaper into the shoes and dry them under a fan. Do not wear the same damp shoes the next day; switch to another pair.
4. If you have a cut, wash it with clean water and soap, dry it and cover it with a clean bandage. Do not step back into that water with an uncovered wound.
5. Wash your face and hands too. Rain brings city dust and pollution down onto your face. Wash once with a gentle face wash; to choose one, see which face wash to use.

A few useful basics

This post is about habits more than products, but these help to have on hand:

Prices as of 27 September 2026; the product page shows the current price.

Anti-fungal powder is available at pharmacies. If you moisturise your feet, do it on the heels and tops only, not between the toes, where staying dry is what matters.

Preventing foot infections

• Waterproof sandals on rainy days, plastic or rubber, which dry quickly. Closed leather shoes stay damp all day once soaked.
• Spare socks and a small towel in your office or college bag.
• Anti-fungal powder between the toes, especially if you have had ringworm or itching between the toes before.
• Keep nails short and clean, with no dirt building up underneath.
• Do not share towels or sandals; this is how fungal infections spread through a family.
• If you have a wound on your foot, avoid waterlogged roads, and if you must go through, cover it with a waterproof bandage.

If itchy, red, ring-shaped patches appear, read ringworm and itchy skin remedies.

For the face and body

• Do not let rainwater dry on your face; mixed with dust, smoke and pollution, it clogs pores. The full guide is in Dhaka pollution skincare.
• Change out of wet clothes as soon as you can. Small itchy bumps on the back and chest from sweat and damp clothing may be fungal acne.
• If your hair gets soaked, wash and dry it too, and do not tie it up wet.

Extra care for children and older people

Children love playing in standing water, so parents should bathe and dry them straight after. For older people and anyone with diabetes, even a small foot wound can become complicated quickly, and reduced sensation means a wound may go unnoticed. Check your feet carefully every night.

When to see a doctor

• Redness spreading around a wound, swelling, warmth, pus or a bad smell.
• A wound that has not started to heal after a few days.
• Splitting or a fungal rash between the toes that keeps growing, or nails turning thick and yellow.
• Fever, headache or muscle pain in the days after wading through flood water. Some infections from contaminated water start this way, so see a doctor promptly.
• Any foot wound if you have diabetes.

Do not apply steroid or "mixed" ointments on your own; they can make fungal infections worse.

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