I have two pairs of Skechers loafers that I really love, but every time I wear either pair I am constantly getting shocked when I touch my car door handle, building door handles...stuff like that. I'm pretty sure it's the shoes because I've only noticed it when wearing these two pairs.

No, it's not fatal but I am a person that really, really hates getting even that small shock. Is there a tried and true way to fix this easily before I throw out perfectly good shoes?

Believe me, Sharil, I know what you mean because I have the same problem. I tried a few different things that people told me or that I found on the internet - touch something non-metal first (most of the time I forgot) wear hand lotion, drink more water. Sometimes I thought I should just wear gloves all the time.

Eventually I just started wearing different shoes and the problem went away.

It still puzzles me, though, because I couldn't figure out what was different about the soles of the "shock" shoes. A lot of my shoes have rubber soles. I really wish I could help you. Maybe someone knows the answer.

Also: I think some people are more prone to getting shocked and giving shocks than others are.

Sharil and A, are you sure those soles are rubber and not some kind of plastic? AFAIK, rubber is the anti-shock, no?

Rubber usually doesn't cause shocks unless you are walking on carpet - does this happen when you are walking on only hard floors too? If it does, I'd dump them. I loathe getting shocked. Unavoidable in the cold Canadian winters though - I would grow long fingernails and touch things first with the tip of a nail to discharge, or touch with an arm covered in clothing to reduce shock.

Junior and I have the same problem here.

3-4 weeks ago Junior turned our pay tv decoder box on, he had (leather school) shoes on and had been walking on carpet, he got zapped and it was enough to take out the decoder, we had to wait over a week for them to replace it.
So just make sure, if you a prone to being zapped, you are barefooted when turning electrical goods on or off.

I'm pretty sure they are rubber and not plastic. I was kind of afraid of that, Caz - they just have to go. I'm a big baby when it comes to this.

This happens to me too. I've just gotten into the habit of slapping everything I touch that is metal. The slap makes the shock completely unnoticeable! I'm sure that anyone who sees me do this thinks I'm nuts, but oh well. I'm serious.

One builds up static electricity as one moves about and the rubber soles keep one from grounding through one's shoes since they do not conduct; so one ends up with a charge relative to other objects, which results in a shock when one grounds by touching such objects, especially metal ones. The various suggestions for avoiding the shock or making it less noticeable are good ones.

Or wear rubber gloves...

Sharil, I worked in a building for a while that was carpeted and terribly dry; I started carrying my keys around and touching doorknobs with a key before opening them. It looks goofy, but it's not painful like discharging a spark with your hand. A metal watchband can be used in the same way.