Kill Athletes Foot

In some cases, the damage athletes foot can do to your feet can be quite severe. It can leave your feet with open sores, cracks and scaling. This can be extremely irritating, causing itching. Athletes foot can cause you feet to sting and hurt in such a way that a persons quality of life may be affected.

Many people think athletes foot only develops on the sole of a persons foot. The truth is athletes foot can develop almost anywhere on the foot, and more to the point, it can develop on other parts of the body such as the face or hands.

Athletes foot is caused by a form of fungi which is present on the surface of the skin. Usually this fungi is fairly harmless, and feeds off dead skin cells and doesn't cause us any problems. The problems can come if the fungus somehow gains entry inside of the flesh and begins to propagate quite rapidly. This can happen if a person has a cut or abrasion on the foot, and provides the perfect opportunity for the fungi to gain entry.

There are a number of things we can do to make conditions less ideal for the fungi in the first place, therefore reducing the chances of athletes foot developing.

The fungi thrive in moist and warm conditions, such as in between the toes or on feet which sweat much due to footwear or sports activity. The way to deal with this is to ensure your feet are washed regularly and dried thoroughly, taking particular attention to drying between the toes. Putting a clean pair of socks on more regular can also reduce the chances of getting athletes foot because the fungi not only thrives on your feet, but also inside of a worn sock where it feeds off the dead skin cells. By changing socks you help to minimise the amount of fungi present around your feet.

As athletes foot can also be spread from person to person, it is important to minimise your risk by not allowing your bare feet to come into contact with areas of floor other bare feet have walked, such as locker rooms at the gym or swimming pool.

If you develop athletes foot, you should ensure you take and prescribed medication or use any anti-athletes foot products to kill athletes foot, and continue to medicate or apply for a few weeks after to ensure the infection is properly eradicated.