Treating Athlete’s Foot

Filed under: Athletes Foot

There is actually no easier treatment for a disease than prevention. This is also true with fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. But before you can actually prevent one from happening, you must first know what causes it to happen. Let’s first get to know what exactly is an athlete’s foot.

People who suffer from athlete’s foot will often experience itchiness in the areas in between their toes. This is the area most often affected by the fungus. Of course, itchiness can also reach the backs of the feet as well as the skins of the toes. The infection may also cause redness in the affected areas. The skin will often crack and when not treated, may result in blisters. In some cases, the toe nails may develop a yellowish color.

Athlete’s foot as mentioned before, is a fungal infection caused by the organism tinea pedis. This fungus can be found in warm and moist areas such as shower rooms, gyms, spa houses and even by the poolside. They survive and multiply in moist places such as those and adhere to the skins of the feet when they have the chance.

Here are some tips on how to prevent athlete’s foot fungi from making your foot their home.

1. Wear a sandals

Don’t give the fungus the opportunity to reach your feet and adhere to the skin. When in a public shower room, in gyms, in locker rooms or even in resorts, make sure that you are wearing sandals while inside. Remember that tinea pedis, the fungus that causes athlete’s foot can survive in puddles of water, just waiting for some foot to get close so that they can adhere to it.

2. Wear socks.

It may seem a really simple solution but wearing socks can help you a lot when it comes to preventing the occurrence of athlete’s foot. A fresh pair of socks can help in the absorption of moisture and sweat in your foot especially when inside a tight rubber shoes. One advice though is to make sure that you don a fresh pair every time. Reusing your socks can only exacerbate the condition or lead to an infection because sweat can be good a breeding ground for the fungus.

3. Dry your feet

After washing your feet, use a towel to wipe the moisture dry before putting on your shoes. Make sure that you wipe dry all the areas of the foot especially the areas in between the toes. It will also help if you can apply a talc powder to help keep the moisture and the sweat at bay during the day.