Causes Of Athlete’s Foot
You can catch athlete’s foot from other people with the infection.
You can get it by:
- walking barefoot in places where someone else has athlete’s foot especially changing rooms and showers
- touching the affected skin of someone with athlete’s foot
You’re more likely to get it if you have wet or sweaty feet, or if the skin on your feet is damaged.
When To Seek Medical Attention For Athletes Foot
If you try home care for athletes foot but it does not improve after a week, see a medical provider, especially if you have diabetes or other conditions that weaken your immune system.
Foot infections can quickly become serious in those cases. A medical provider may prescribe a stronger antifungal medication to clear the infection.
Get immediate medical attention if you have athletes foot and any of the following:
- Redness that extends beyond the fungal area
How Do I Treat Athletes Foot
After washing your feet, dry them thoroughly and use an antifungal product. Follow the directions on the package regarding the number of times to apply it daily. It could take a couple of weeks before you see results.
Avoid picking at the rash or scratching. Not only could doing so lead to a bacterial infection, it could also make it easier for you to spread the infection to other parts of your body.
Athletes foot often comes back. If you dont see an improvement with at-home care or if you struggle with recurring infections of athletes foot, its time to see a doctor.
You should also see your doctor if you have diabetes and think you have athletes foot. If you have any signs of an infection fever, pus, swelling you need to see a doctor.
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How To Treat Severe Athletes Foot
Give home treatments at least three weeks to work. If your symptoms are severe, however, see your doctor. Left untreated, a fungal infection can cause the skin to crack, which allows infection-causing bacteria to gain entry.
You should also see your doctor as soon as possible if you see signs of a more serious infection, such as skin that is angry, red and tender to the touch or oozing.
Other warning signals are swelling of the foot or leg accompanied by a fever, or red streaks radiating from the infected area.
How Can You Treat Athletes Foot
There are many noninfective conditions that affect the foot, such as psoriasis and poison ivy. If you are unsure whether your problem is athletes foot , you should visit a physician. Your pharmacist may also be able to recognize the presence of athletes foot. Once athletes foot is confirmed, you may treat the problem with nonprescription products. Generally, OTC products are safer than prescription products, as they have fewer side effects. Used properly, nonprescription products may also cure athletes foot.
Your pharmacist can provide full counseling information on treatment options for athletes foot. You must read the labels carefully and follow all directions provided. Some products can be used in anyone aged 2 years and above, but they must be used twice daily for 4 weeks to produce a cure.
Another product must only be used in those aged 12 years and above, but it can cure athletes foot between the toes in 1 week if used twice daily or in 4 weeks if you choose to use it only once daily. However, it will not cure athletes foot on the bottom or sides of the feet, which is known as moccasin type.
Lamisil AT Cream can also cure athletes foot in those aged 12 years and above. The spray pump and solution forms only cure the condition between the toes if used twice daily for 1 week, but the cream can also cure the infection on the bottom and sides of the feet when used twice daily for 2 weeks.
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What Will Happen If Athletes Foot Is Left Untreated
Athletes foot doesnt typically go away on its own. If its left untreated, it can spread to other areas of your body, including your:
- Nails: Fungal nail infections can be more difficult to treat. They are often more resistant to many treatments.
- Hands: A similar fungal infection can spread to your hands. This happens when you scratch your infected feet or use the same towel to dry off your infected feet and hands.
- Groin: The same fungus that causes athletes foot can also spread to your groin. Its a condition called jock itch. The fungus typically spreads from your feet to your groin after using a towel to dry off after bathing or swimming.
When To See Your Doctor
If you think you have athletes foot and it hasnt subsided after a week of home treatment, make an appointment to see your doctor. You may need prescription antifungals to get rid of the infection.
You should also make an appointment to see your doctor if you have athletes foot and diabetes. This is especially true if you have signs of a secondary bacterial infection, which can be more dangerous in those with diabetes due to their nerve damage.
Signs of infection include redness, pus, swelling, drainage, and fever. If you have diabetes, you may not feel pain in your feet due to nerve damage.
Your doctor will likely be able to diagnose athletes foot just by looking at it.
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Unsafe Home Remedies For Toenail Fungus
Although there are many effective home remedies for toenail fungus, there are still some natural and household products that can cause more harm than good. For example, you should never use bleach to get rid of toenail fungus. Its use may be toxic to the skin and cause severe skin irritation when not used properly.
Additionally, you should never use overly hot water when performing the variety of foot soaks mentioned above. Excessive heat to the nails and skin will not kill fungusand extreme temperatures may injure the skin causing burns, blisters, and sometimes permanent skin damage. Always use lukewarm water for soaking.
Urine is another home remedy that should be avoided. Previously, it had been believed to be effective against fungal infections due to its urea contents. While urea can help soften the nail bed to make it easier for antifungal medication to be absorbed, urine does not contain enough urea to be effective.
And, finally, do not remove or excessively trim toenails at home. Fungal toenails should be properly trimmed and maintained on a regular basis, but do not remove too much nail. If toenail clipping or removal is not done properly, damage to the nail bed may cause additional injury to the nail, which can be irreversible. There also is the risk of causing bacterial infections when the damaged nail is not removed properly.
Do I Need To Throw Away My Shoes If I Have Athletes Foot
The Best Way To Kill Fungus In Your Shoes Perhaps the most effective way to ensure that your shoes do not spread foot fungus back to your feet and toenails is to simply throw away your old shoes if you have had issues with foot fungus. This is the best way to ensure that you do not re-infect yourself.
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Do I Need To Throw Away My Shoes If I Have Athlete’s Foot
The Best Way To Kill Fungus In Your Shoes Perhaps the most effective way to ensure that your shoes do not spread foot fungus back to your feet and toenails is to simply throw away your old shoes if you have had issues with foot fungus. This is the best way to ensure that you do not re-infect yourself.
How Bad Can Athlete’s Foot Get
Athletes foot can get very bad. In some cases, the blisters can introduce bacteria that can cause severe infections that require hospitalization.
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Choose Proper Shoes And Socks
Avoid plastic shoes and footwear that has been treated to be waterproof, says Dr. Levine. They trap perspiration and create a warm, moist spot for the fungus to grow. Natural materials such as cotton and leather provide the best environment for feet, while rubber and even wool may induce sweating and hold moisture.
How Can I Prevent Athletes Foot
Dont go barefoot in public areas such as the swimming pool or health club where many others are also barefoot. Cut your danger by keeping your feet tidy, dry, and powdered with an over the counter antifungal foot powder. Other sensible steps:
- Wear synthetic socks, and shoes that breathe shoes that keep water out likewise keep sweat in.
- Never share shoes, socks, or towels.
- If you get athletes foot, clean your socks and towels in the most popular water possible.
- Be twice as careful if you take an antibiotic. The medication can eliminate beneficial bacteria that generally manage the fungus that triggers athletes foot.
- Take your shoes off when you go home and let your feet get exposed to the air.
In the best case the Athletes foot will leave you forever. Anyway, it would help if you kept attention to all triggers of the disease to avoid it returns.
Q& A
Question: Ive been fighting a small patch of athletes foot for many, several years. The best I can do is just keep it at bay, but Im ill and tired of dealing with it. Exists any method, any method at all, for me to get rid of it permanently? Ill do what it takes, but I just wish to stop worrying about it every day. Thanks!
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Will The Infection Come Back
Fungus spreads easily and can survive for some time on surfaces in the right conditions, so care must be taken to avoid re-infection, as research indicates reinfection rates may be as high as 25%. Reinfection doesnt necessarily have to come from another person, but can occur from continuing to wear your own infected shoes and socks.
We will explain the best ways to minimise your risk of reinfection and keep the fungus gone. This will include scrubbing down your showers with appropriate antifungal agents and hot washing all of your socks, bath mats and shoe liners with an antifungal washing detergent.
Treatment For Athlete’s Foot From A Gp
The GP may:
- send a small scraping of skin from your feet to a laboratory to check you have athlete’s foot
- prescribe a steroid cream to use alongside antifungal cream
- prescribe antifungal tablets you might need to take these for several weeks
- refer you to a skin specialist for more tests and treatment if needed
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Athlete’s Foot And Diabetes
If you have athlete’s foot and diabetes, see your healthcare provider immediately do not bother with home treatments. Athlete’s foot can cause breaks in the skin that can lead to potentially serious complications like foot ulcers and cellulitis in people with diabetes.
What Triggers Athletes Foot
Anyone can get athletes foot. It is contagious and can be spread from an infected person via surfaces like floors, shoes and towels.
Its also possible for you to spread the infection from your feet to other parts of your body. This is especially true if you pick at your infected feet or scratch them.
Even though anyone can get athletes foot, there are some factors that make it more likely that you could get infected. These include:
- sweating heavily
- walking barefoot in places such as swimming pools, locker rooms, communal showers and saunas
- wearing enclosed shoes, boots or other footwear on a frequent basis
- sharing personal items such as towels, bed linens, shoes, clothes or mats with a person who has some type of fungal infection
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How Does This Condition Affect My Body
Athletes foot commonly affects the skin between your toes. Your skin may change color, crack, peel and flake. Your skin may also turn a lighter color and become thicker and swollen.
Athletes foot can spread across the bottom of your foot or feet. This is moccasin athletes foot. In feet with moccasin athletes foot, the skin on the bottoms, heels and edges of your feet are dry, itchy and scaly.
In severe cases of athletes foot, you may develop fluid-filled blisters or open sores. Blisters often appear on the bottoms of your feet, but they may develop anywhere on them. Open sores often appear between your toes, but they may also appear on the bottoms of your feet. Your feet might also smell bad, too.
How To Prevent Athlete’s Foot’s Spread To The Groin
The tinea fungus that causes athlete’s foot can also cause uncomfortable itching in the groin regionoften called “jock itch”. So when you have athlete’s foot, be careful not to infect your groin area.
Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after touching your feet. And don’t pull your underwear on over your bare feet. Put your socks on first.
If you wear tights, put on a pair of socks, then your undies, take the socks off and then put on your tights.
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Try A Medicated Foot Spray For Relief
Garshick is a fan of Arm & Hammer’s medicated foot spray to treat athlete’s foot in between the toes and on the feet. “It uses tolnaftate to help prevent and provide relief for symptoms that may be associated with athlete’s foot such as itching and burning,” she says. “It also contains shea butter to soothe the dry, cracked skin.” Use twice daily. Spray is favored for its ease of application.
What Causes Athletes Foot
A number of different fungi can be responsible for Athletes Foot, the most common is found in warm and damp environments, which provide the ideal conditions for fungus to multiply quickly and spread across the foot. For this reason, Athletes foot is often contracted from communal showers, changing rooms and closed-in shoes. It also makes Australians particularly susceptible due to our often hot and damp climate.
Athletes foot is spread through direct contact, meaning you need to be sharing surfaces directly with someone affected, where fungal spores have been left behind.
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Keep Them Dryand Clean
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To prevent fungus from gaining a toehold, try a 10 percent sulfur-based soap for its natural antifungal properties, says Sarina Elmariah, MD, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dry feet thoroughly , and sprinkle them with antifungal powder if youre prone to athletes foot. Another good idea, says Dr. Kramer, is to spray some disinfectant on a rag and use it to wipe the insides of your shoes every time you take them off. This kills any fungus spores.
Best Product To Prevent Athletes Foot
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How To Prevent Athletes Foot From Returning
Athletes foot thrives on sweaty feetespecially sweaty feet enclosed in a small area. To prevent the condition before it starts, go barefoot at home whenever possible to let your feet breathe. Experts recommend changing socks at least once daily and wearing a different pair of shoes each day to let your shoes dry out from sweat and moisture.
Having good basic hygiene may also help prevent the condition. Wash your feet daily using warm water and soap, making sure to dry them thoroughly. If you are prone to athletes foot, the experts at Mayo Clinic recommend applying a medicated foot powder after washing as a preventative measure.
Its also essential to protect your feet in public places, as athletes foot is spread via surfaces. Be sure to wear waterproof sandals or shoes around public pools, showers, and lockers rooms to prevent contracting the fungal infection.
Take Caution When Getting A Pedicure
Garshick notes that fungus can live on metal and for this reason, the Centers for Disease Control recommends disinfecting nail tools between every use. “With pedicures in general, it is best to go to a place that uses equipment that has been cleaned or to bring your own tools,” she says. If doing an at-home pedi, be sure to practice good hygiene with your tools.
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