KICK ATHLETE’S FOOT TO THE CURB

Whether you regularly give your feet a hard workout on the field, or just keep them comfortably elevated in “couch potato” mode, you might be surprised to hear that your feet are susceptible to a common ailment—athlete’s foot. No matter what your level of exercise may be,  owever, your podiatric physician is your best defense against this unwelcome condition.

Athlete’s foot is a skin infection caused by a fungus, usually occurring between the toes or on the soles of the feet. The fungus most commonly attacks the feet because shoes create a warm, dark, and humid environment, which encourages fungus growth. The warmth and dampness of areas around swimming pools, showers, and locker rooms are also breeding grounds for fungi. Because this infection is common among athletes who use these facilities frequently, the term “athlete’s foot” became popular. But anyone, regardless of their exercise level, can contract athlete’s foot.

Some of the symptoms of athlete’s foot can include one or more of the following: dry skin, itching, scaling, inflammation, and blisters.  Blisters often lead to cracking of the skin. When blisters break, small, raw areas of tissue are exposed, causing pain and swelling.  Itching and burning may increase as the infection spreads.  While it may not be possible to prevent athlete’s foot, you can do much to avoid infection by practicing good foot hygiene.  Washing the feet daily with soap and water, drying carefully, especially between the toes, and changing shoes and hose regularly to decrease moisture, help prevent the fungus from infecting the feet.  Also helpful is daily use of a quality foot powder if recommended by your podiatric physician.

There are many effective medications that can be used to treat and help control fungal infections like athlete’s foot. A visit to your podiatric physician and an evaluation of the infection will result in much better outcomes than most over-the-counter treatments.  The podiatrist will first determine if a fungus is the cause of the problem. If it is, a specific treatment plan, including the prescription of antifungal medication, applied topically or taken orally, may be suggested. If the infection is caused by bacteria, then antibiotics appropriately targeted against the bacteria may be prescribed.  In most cases, the podiatrist can work with you to resolve the issue in just a few visits.

Podiatric physicians recommend a number of ways to lessen your chance of contracting athlete’s foot. These include avoiding walking barefoot, using shower shoes in public areas, and attempting to reduce perspiration by using a good powder. It is also recommended that patients change shoes regularly and wear socks that keep feet dry and wick away moisture. Your doctor can recommend appropriateshoes and socks for your condition. 

For sterilization of your shoes RFAI recommends and has available ultraviolet shoe horn sterilizers which are very smart devices that kill all organisms in your shoes in a short period of time.  UV light will destroy fungus and bacteria and can hurt your eyes so these shoe horns have safety devices built in so they will not leak UV light.  These shoe horns come in 3 sizes and we utilize these devices in our evidence based treatment for Athlete’s Foot and toenail fungus. Combining these devices with our antifungal foot cream will provide rapid relief of your Athlete’s Foot.

For further information about foot or ankle conditions, contact one of our foot and ankle surgeons at the Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute, LLC.  Visit us on the web at www.rfainstitute.com or make an appointment with one of our state of the art offices in Maryland:

Hagerstown 301.797.8554, 1150 Professional Court, Suite C, 21740

Frederick 301.418.6014, 2100 Old Farm Drive, Suite D, 21702