The How and Why of Athlete's Foot

Do you have itchy, dry, flaky feet? If you do, you could have athlete’s foot. As people are starting to head back out to the old, beaten path, there is a good possibility that quite a few of you may develop a case of athlete’s foot. It is one of the worst things that can plague you, because your feet are just nonstop itching and burning. Some people have described their pain as being unbearable, just from a bad case of athlete’s foot.

Athlete’s foot can show up looking like a wide variety of things on your foot. You can just have dry, flaky skin, clear up to blisters and even splits in your skin. There are different types of athlete’s foot and some of them are far worse than others.

So, what are some preventative measures you can take for athlete’s foot? There are a couple of things that fungus like. They like warm, moist area; i.e. your shoes. One of the things that you can do is change your socks throughout the day. As your socks get moist, they can hold your sweat and create a perfect breeding ground for fungus. Another option is to wear socks that are multi-material, this means don’t wear just straight cotton, and some good suggestions are any athletic sock. Another option is to buy two pairs of shoes so that you can wear one and then the next day wear a different pair so that the other can dry out. You can also wear a different pair of shoes when you are running so that all of the sweat you gather in those shoes is not then worn the rest of the day.

Treating athlete’s foot is a pretty straightforward problem to deal with. There are multiple antifungal creams that can be used. Sometimes, athlete’s foot if not treated can become a super infection where both fungus and bacteria can infect the area leading to a full blown infection.

If you or someone you know has itchy, dry, flaking feet, it is important that you see your local podiatrist. If you live in the Reading or Tewksbury, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your Athlete’s foot. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.