Home > Foot Problems > Tinea
| * Explanation | * Symptoms | * Diagnosis | * Duration |
| * Prevention | * Treatment | * Call your Doctor | * Prognosis |
Athlete's foot, also known as tinea pedis, is a common foot infection caused by fungi called dermatophytes. Although these fungi can be found in many different places indoors and outdoors, they are especially common in the warm, moist environments of pools, showers, and other sports facilities, where athletes (and other active persons) walk with bare feet. Once dermatophytes contaminate the skin of someone's foot, the warm, moist environment of sweaty socks and occlusive shoes contribute to their growth.
Symptoms of athlete's foot include:
What Your Doctor Looks For
Your doctor will ask you about your foot symptoms and about your risk factors for catching athlete's foot, especially your use of public pools and showers. Your doctor will also ask about your foot care habits, including your foot hygiene, the type of shoes and socks you wear, and how often you wear the same pair of shoes.
Your doctor can usually diagnose athlete's foot by a simple physical examination of your feet. In selected cases, your doctor may need to confirm the diagnosis by gently sampling the skin debris from a scaly portion of your foot and sending the sample for laboratory examination.
Athlete's foot can be a chronic problem that lasts for years. Even after proper medical treatment, the infection can recur if the patient's feet are again exposed to fungi and sweaty, occlusive conditions.
In general, you can help prevent athlete's foot by keeping your feet clean and dry. More specifically, you can try the following suggestions:
- Wash your feet thoroughly every day and wear a clean pair of socks after your daily bath or shower.
- Take time to dry your feet thoroughly (especially the webbed area between the toes) after you bathe, shower or swim.
- If you use public pools or showers, wear thongs or sandals to prevent your feet from being exposed to floors contaminated with fungi.
- Choose leather shoes rather than vinyl, since leather is less occlusive and lets feet "breathe."
- Wear cotton socks to absorb sweat.
- If possible, don't wear the same pair of shoes for two days in a row. Give shoes a 24- hour break between wearing to air out and dry out.
- Don't share your shoes, and don't wear shoes worn by others.
Doctors usually begin treating athlete's foot with a topical (applied to the surface) antifungal medication, such as: miconazole, ketoconazole, econazole, clotrimazole, oxiconazole, sulconazole, terconazole, terbinafine, or naftifine. Many weeks of topical treatment may be necessary.
For patients with long-standing athlete's foot infections, topical antifungal drugs may only relieve symptoms without actually curing the infection. To achieve a definite cure, your doctor may prescribe an antifungal such as griseofulvin to be taken by mouth. Although griseofulvin is a very effective antifungal medication, it may cause side effects, including headache, gastrointestinal problems, and (rarely) abnormalities in blood and/or liver function after long-term use. For this reason it is rarely used now, and safer alternatives include itraconazole and terbinafine.
Call your doctor if the skin of your foot itches, peels, or becomes red, cracked or blistered. If you are diabetic, call your doctor immediately for any abnormalities involving your feet or toes.
Patients with new or short-term symptoms of athlete's foot can usually be cured after several weeks of treatment with a topical antifungal medication. Patients with chronic athlete's foot can also be cured, but may require oral antifungal treatment. Even after successful treatment, patients remain at risk for re-infection if they do not follow prevention guidelines. Relapses are common.