Dealing With Athlete's Foot

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

30 Jun 2007 09:08 AM

Athlete's foot is a fungal infection that causes a rash on the skin of the foot. It may appear between the toes, on the sole, on the heel, on the instep, or in multiple locations. The fungus is easily spread but can be easily treated at home.

Natural remedies include:

• Mix fungus fighting essential oils like lavender, tea tree, clove, and eucalyptus into a carrier oil.
• Keep your feet dry -- wear cotton socks and/or open shoes and use foot powder. Sweat and a lack of air circulation can encourage infection growth.
• Make your own foot powder from cornstarch with essential oils like tea tree or eucalyptus, sage (to help reduce sweat), and peppermint (to ease itching).

There are plenty of over-the-counter antifungal medications available to treat athlete's foot. Different medications are available, like terbinafine (in Lamisil AT), miconazole (in Micatin), clotrimazole (in Lotramin AF) and tolnaftate (in Tinactin). Over the counter antifungal medications are topical; prescription medications are available in topical or oral form. If the nonprescription medications aren't enough, you may need to see your doctor for a prescription antifungal.

In severe cases, your doctor may prescribe antifungal pills. These can be expensive and have some serious side effects -- so you'll need to be tested periodically while using antifungal pills.

Whatever treatment you choose, be sure to complete the full course of medication. Some symptoms may lessen or stop entirely shortly after starting a medication, but you need to complete the treatment. This will reduce your chances of a repeat case.

The bad news is: athlete's foot can return even after using antifungal medication as directed. More bad news: athlete's foot is easy to spread to others. So even if the symptoms don't bother you, you should treat your athlete's foot to prevent it from spreading. Untreated athlete's foot can cause skin blisters or skin cracks that can put you at risk for a severe bacterial infection.

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