Last updated on June 12, 2021
This fungal infection is prevalent due to hygienic conditions and daily activities. The athlete’s foot or tinea pedis is a harmless skin infection caused by a fungus that thrives in moist, warm and dark environments. Fungal infections can occur in people who experience excessive perspiration, especially in the summertime. The fungus causing athlete’s foot can be transmitted through contact with surfaces of showers, swimming pools, and locker rooms. Wearing socks, stockings, shoes, and clothing of infected individuals can be a medium for this infection.
The athlete’s foot includes symptoms such as peeling and itching on the sole of the foot or between the toes. Even some individuals do not have such symptoms and never realize they get infected. It may seem red, small or larger blisters of the feet. Three typical types of athlete’s foot are the infection in the soles of the feet, infection between the toes and infection that incurs inflammation or blistering. The usual cases of athlete’s foot may also happen with ringworm of the groin or hands. It is essential to treat the fungal infection to avoid the infections occur. Moreover, if the problem is persistent then you can should be consulting your doctor for effective medications. There is also The online Medical Billing Specialist that will help you with all the billing process so that you can get of your athlete’s foot quickly.
The athlete’s foot can be contagious to some persons but it is not always. Some of them are vulnerable to the fungus that causes athlete’s foot but others are more resistant. To prevent the infection, we can apply the instructions:
- Wash feet, especially between the toes, with antiseptic.
- Keep in mind to dry the feet especially to the toe webs. After drying, apply antifungal lotion followed by applying antifungal foot powder.
- Wear open-toed shoes or well-ventilated shoes. It will decrease the possibility of getting infected. Wear also lightweight cotton socks to help reduce sweat on your feet.
- Keep shoes dry anywhere we go and use a different pair each day we use. Expose them for about 24 hours in the air before they are used again.
- When the day is very hot in the summertime and we feel our feet will perspire excessively, we can help wear socks made of high turbo acrylic fiber. This way can reduce moisture on the feet and carry the moisture to the sock’s outer layer to evaporate. Use perforated shoes or sandals whenever possible.
- Avoid sharing of shoes, sandals, socks, and towels between family members. Use a separate towel to cleanse the infected area of the foot.
Diagnosis of an athlete’s foot can be performed by a general practitioner, pharmacist and dermatologist to ensure whether an individual gets infected. If someone is diagnosed to get infected by athlete’s foot, some treatments below can be very helpful:
- Use antifungal agents in the form of a powder, spray, cream, and gel. Unless the medical prescriptions, use the over-the-counter medicines. The most general of the over-the-counter product is miconazole nitrate with two percent typical concentration. The others are tolnaftate with one percent typical concentration and Terbinafine hydrochloride. The infected individual can also apply undecylenic acid from castor oil to be used for fungal infections. The application used for a cure may be long enough about 45 days or more. The treatment is expected to continue for four weeks after the symptoms have abated to make sure the fungus has been eradicated. As the itching due to infection has eased, the individuals with an athlete’s foot may not complete the therapy.
- Apply no anti-itch creams as they may allay the symptoms but they will exacerbate the fungus instead. They enhance the moisture content of the skin and encourage the development of the fungus.
