30 Sep Athlete’s Foot: Cure Summer’s Lasting Burn
As the days grow shorter, the wind turns a hint colder and we exchange our bathing suits for light jackets and sweaters, the summer fades into memory and autumn greets us with a chill.
Yes, unfortunately, beach season has winded down. Steaming pumpkin lattes will soon replace those tasty seaside martinis. Fluffy hats and snug mittens will oust swimming trunks and bikinis.
Yet some just can’t seem to shake the dog days of summer from their minds. Or feet.
Those long carefree days spent lounging down by the ocean and sunning on the deck of the local community swimming pool has left some with a painful, unsightly uninvited guest: athlete’s foot. Left untreated, these flaky, itchy, scaly and inflamed feet will keep summer burning brightly long after the cabanas have closed shop.
Athlete’s foot, also known as “ringworm of the foot” and “moccasin foot,” is a disease caused by fungi typically transmitted to infected feet and toes via those wet, moist communal areas where you’ve walked barefoot—showers, gyms, bathhouses, locker rooms, bathrooms, etc.
Once the fungus has caught hold, it takes refuge in the moist, dark insides of your shoes, and incubates. Soon, your skin is a stinging, burning, crackling red. And boy does it itch!
Athlete’s foot isn’t just a summer fling, either—due to its contagious nature the disease can be passed around from person to person throughout the entire year. So if you’re out at the bowling alley with friends, for example, and you rent and wear a pair of bowling shoes that an infected person previously wore—you can catch it.
Sharing towels is another way to spread this insidious annoyance.
Don’t Be Fooled
A common misnomer about athlete’s foot is from its name: that it only infects your tootsies. Yes, the fungi most often manifests in between your toes, arch and sides and bottom of your feet. But athlete’s foot can also spread (!!) to other parts of the body. The fungi can infect really any areas of your skin that are moist and warm. The groin area is a choice spot—with the leftover scorching more commonly referred to as “jock itch.”
Untreated, athlete’s foot can also result in vesicular blisters across the arms, chest and hands.
You can consider Cherrywood Foot Care athlete’s foot specialists. Why? Because Team Cherrywood has effectively diagnosed and treated countless cases—in countless stages—of this disease.
Effective treatment for athlete’s foot involves topical fungi medication—including anti-fungal powder, ointment or lotions—and proper prevention awareness to keep the fungus away, for good.
Here are a few helpful tips to keep these unwelcome organisms from moving in:
- Overall, you want to try and keep your feet dry, especially when in situations where a lot of people are walking around barefoot in the presence of water. Wear sandals instead of going au natural.
- Certain types of socks—those consisting of synthetic materials—can help remove moisture throughout the day.
- Wear shoes and sneakers that are well-ventilated, as opposed to those uber-tight and fully closed.
- And change your socks! Switching them out every so often will deprive that nasty fungus of settling down—and keep your footsies bacteria-free.
For more tips on how to rid yourself of athlete’s foot, prevent the next infection, or to find out if in fact it is what’s keeping you up at night, call Cherrywood Foot Care today at 516-303-9633.