Preventing Athlete's Foot

Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that can lead to intense itching, blistered or peeling areas of skin, redness, and scaling. It can occur on moist waterlogged skin especially between the fourth and fifth toes or on dry flaky skin around the heels or elsewhere on the foot. Athlete’s foot can be caused from a number of fungal species which are typically picked up in pools, showers, and changing rooms (anywhere where you walk around barefoot).

Once your feet have been contaminated and cramped in shoes the warm, dark, and sweaty environment provides the ideal breeding ground for the fungus. However, athlete’s foot also occurs in dry, flaky areas. It’s quite common in summer sandal-wearers. The sun makes your skin dry out, so it loses its natural protective oils; this combined with the constant trauma from sandals makes them more prone to infection.

If you do not treat it then the fungus can spread to the toe nails, causing thickening and yellowing of the nail. Fungal infections are highly contagious and can spread to anywhere on your skin. Podiatrist may help you pinpoint the best treatment for your particular type of athlete’s foot. Podiatrist can help treat the fungal infection that has spread to your nails, by reducing the thickness and cutting back the nails, thereby exposing the infected nail bed to a lighter, cooler environment.

Remember these steps to preventing Athletes Foot

1. Change your footwear on a regular basis. There’s no point sorting your feet out if you constantly re-infect them by putting them into damp, fungal infected shoes. It takes 24-48 hours for shoes to dry out properly, so alternate your shoes daily.

2. To help shoes dry out more quickly, take any insoles out. Also, loosen any laces and open your shoes out fully so that air can circulate. Go for trainers with ventilation holes.

3. If your shoes are so tight that they squeeze your toes together, this encourages moisture to gather between your toes and encourages fungus. Let air circulate between the toes by going for a wider, deeper toebox instead and choose shoes made from natural materials.

4. Change your socks every day.

5. Wear flip-flops in the bathroom and in public showers. This will not only ensure that you don’t leave your dead skin around for others to pick up, but will stop you picking up another species of fungus! And never wear anyone else’s shoes, trainers or slippers.