Greetings once again my faithful readers (yes that means you). Today we explore a topic near and dear to my heart or feet, to be more precise.  That’s right, your friend and mine; let’s give a warm welcome toooooo….. Athlete’s foot! I know it’s not what you were expecting, but athlete’s foot is the most common type of fungal infection, so what the heck? I figure we can spend a little time on it right? Here are the facts. *(a/f stands for athlete’s foot)

What is that stuff?

“That stuff” on your foot isn’t dog poop. That stuff is tenia pedis, a.k.a. athlete’s foot (a/f). A/f is an infection of the skin caused by the invasion of a fungus. Think of it like mushrooms taking up residence in your skin. As the fungus takes root, it produces damaging effects on the skin such as cracking, peeling, scaling, itching, and in severe cases bleeding. 

How do you get it?

A/f can happen to anyone, not just athletes. A/f is acquired through physical contact with infected surfaces. These can include the tiled floors of showers and bathrooms, or the skin of an infected person. In addition, a/f can be spread through the sharing of garments like socks and even towels with infected individuals. This is crucial because the parasitic fungus that causes the infection is able to spread and survive on other body parts, like the groin for example. When this happens, a/f morphs into its ever so popular cousin, jock itch. He’s a big hit with all the ladies (yeah right!)

How do I know if I have it?

            The easiest way to determine if you have a/f is to look at your feet. Visual inspection of the surface of the skin is the number one way to see if you’ve got it. The presence of cracking skin, blisters, and exposed tissue are all signs you have a/f. Not to mention the pain, itchiness, irritation, inflammation, and swelling that accompany these things. If you’ve taken a visual stock of the affected area and still aren’t sure, the best thing to do is seek professional medical help– Most likely in the form of a dermatologist.

Treatment & Prevention

Grandma used to say “prevention’s better than the cure” so let’s start there. The key to a/f is moisture, so

keeping dry is an essential. Make sure to dry your feet (and the rest of your body) thoroughly after showering. Do not use wet towels to dry off, and do not share towels, socks, and under garments. Disinfect the shower/tub after each use to help kill any present fungi. Wash your sheets and socks in warm water (140 degrees F) and change them often. If your feet sweat, try adding a little talcum powder, baking soda, or gold bond powder to your socks to absorb any additional moisture and try to change your insoles regularly. Oh, and before I forget, here’s a little trick to help prevent jock itch. Put your socks on before your underwear. I know it sounds cheesy, but work with me people. Now if you find yourself beyond the prevention stage, don’t fret there’s still hope. A/f can be treated with various topical antifungal agents like creams or aerosol sprays like “tough actin’ Tinactin”.  

In extreme cases, doctors have been known to prescribe a series of orally ingested antibiotics. So that’s the long and short of it. Keep up on your hygiene and you should be good to go. If not, see a dermatologist and determine which method of treatment is best for you. Whatever you do, don’t urinate on the infected area. People have tried to pee on their feet in the shower in an effort to kill the fungus and rid themselves of the infection. All they ended up with was athlete’s foot and stinky feet too!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.