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Athletes’s Foot Treatment Tips

November 21, 2007 on 7:30 am | In Skin DIsorders | No Comments

Athlete’s foot is an ostensive skin infection of the foot caused by a moldlike fungus. The fungus most commonly targets the feet as shoes create a warm, dark, and humid ambiance which encourages fungus growth. The warmth and dampness of surroundings around swimming pools, showers, and locker rooms are also breeding grounds for fungi.

Athlete’s foot arises mostly among teen and young adult guys, kids and women can get it, too. People with sudoriferous or damp feet are at risk. Walking barefoot though others also walk barefoot is one risk the fungus can get on your feet in the first place. The symptoms of athlete’s foot, singly or associated, are dry skin, itching, scaling, inflammation, and blisters. Blisters futher lead to cracking of the skin.

When blisters fissure, small raw areas of tissue are revealed, causing pain and swelling. Itching and burning may enlarge as the infection spreads. The fungus is travelled on fragments of skin or other particles that defile floors, mats, rugs, bed linens, clothes, shoes and other surfaces. Plastic shoes in certain provide a welcoming environment for fungal multiplication and infection. It can also contaminate other parts of the body - such as the groin and underarms.

There are many traditional medications as well as alternative treatments for fungal skin infections, including athlete’s foot. Topical agents only clear the infection merely 30% of the time and offer mycologic cures (dearth of organisms) less than 15% of the time. Athlete’s foot almost always reacts well to self-care, although it may come back.

Wash your feet thoroughly with soap and water and dry the region very carefully and fully. Try to do this nearly twice a day. Avoid wearing tight or synthetic footwear which doesn’t avow your feet to “breathe.” Keep your feet clean and dry, chiefly between your toes. Wear socks that soak up wetness.

Wear sandals around pool areas, public showers, and gyms to usher clear of the fungus. Cotton is one stuff which does this. Alter your socks every day. Spray your shoes with a disinfectant and place them in out in the sun to help kill germs. Don’t share towels or footwear. Keep home bathroom surfaces clean - particularly showers and tubs.

Athletes’s Foot Treatment Tips

1. The fungal infection is generally treated with topical antifungal agents.

2. Use antifungal or drying powders to prevent athlete’s foot.

3. Wear shower shoes or sandals in locker rooms, public showers, and public baths.

4. Some topical applications like castellani’s Paint, often used for intertrigo, work well but in small centered areas.

5. Carbol fuchsin red dye used in this treatment such as many other vital stains is both fungicidal and bacteriocidal.

6. Undecylenic acid (Castor oil derivative) is known fungicide which can be used for fungal skin infections

7. Use foot powder to help minimize sweat. Some footpowders also contain an antifungal ingredient.

8. Wear sandals around pool areas, public showers, and gyms to steer clear of the fungus.

9. Wear socks that soak up wetness. Cotton is one material which does this.

10. Change wearing different pairs of shoes to allow them to dry out for a day or two at a time.