Contents
In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
Athlete’s foot may not be bed-ridden, but it is extremely troublesome. If he attacks one family member, the rest should be on his guard as well! How to fight it? It’s best to do anything to avoid us.
What is athlete’s foot?
Foot mycosis is not picky – statistically, every fifth Pole has had, has or will have it. In addition, it does not have high requirements – it is enough if it is warm, humid, maybe also dark – and it has perfect conditions for development. The worst thing is that we create these conditions ourselves, e.g. by wearing covered shoes for many hours, staying in places where fungi can easily grow, such as swimming pools, saunas or sports clubs.
Mycosis is sometimes even called a disease of fitness clubs, because this is where infections occur most often. And most often it attacks the skin of the feet and nails of those who dare to walk barefoot at the pool or gym.
And when we bring athlete’s foot home, we can easily share it with the rest of the household, because fungi also spread through a nail file, washcloth, towel or shoes of a person suffering from mycosis.
It will be easier for people who take antibiotics or hormonal drugs, as well as those with reduced immunity, e.g. suffering from AIDS, diabetes, systemic diseases, related to immunoaggression, as well as elderly people and pregnant women.
Symptoms of athlete’s foot
Foot mycosis can be seen with the naked eye. When it becomes infected with mycosis, changes appear on the skin. And they walk on our feet:
- they are first visible between the fifth and fourth fingers;
- later between the fourth and the third – because it is between the toes of the toes that the mycosis feels best;
- soon changes can be seen in all interdigital spaces as well as on the back and sole of the foot, which begins to look poorly aesthetic;
- the affected epidermis becomes wrinkled, whitish and moist;
- cracks and redness form in the affected places, bubbles form in which there may be pus. Everything itches and smells bad.
The skin infected with mycosis may look like after a very intense peeling – it is red and very dry on both sides of the sole. Sometimes dry flakes can spread to the sides and top of the feet. There is a rash on the soles. For the care of such skin, we recommend the Blue Cap Body Spray for skin inflammation, available at a favorable price on the Medonet Market.
Tinea pedis usually affects both feet, but sometimes only one is infected.
Zobacz: Itching of the skin – the main causes. Mycosis, psoriasis, intimate diseases
Treatment of athlete’s foot
It is best to start the fight with athlete’s foot as soon as we notice disturbing symptoms. When attacked quickly, it will die just as quickly. We can get rid of it with topical medications, also without a prescription.
Modern preparations fight mycosis very effectively. These measures effectively eliminate the symptoms of the disease and prevent its recurrence within 14 days of treatment. They also combine several active ingredients, so it is not necessary to do your mycogram (tests determining which species of fungus has attacked our skin) most of the most common fungi will be defeated with their help. If the lesions persist, an appointment with a dermatologist will be necessary. The doctor will prescribe an oral antifungal agenttreatment lasts about 4-6 weeks.
Prophylactically and supportively during treatment, use:
- EPTA DEO sweat regulating cleansing gel,
- EPTA DEO hyperhidrosis body cream,
- EPTA DEO body spray that eliminates excessive sweating and the unpleasant smell of sweat.
The cream and spray can be purchased on Medonet Market in a special EPTA DEO Hyperhidrosis Body Kit.
But most of the time ointment quite enough. It is used at night. First you need to thoroughly wash and dry your feet very carefully, paying close attention to the interdigital spaces. It is best to use a paper towel for this purpose, because it is very absorbent and it will best collect all the moisture, besides, it is disposable, so you can throw it away after use, thus not exposing the rest of the family to infection. Apply a thin layer of ointment to dry places. After the procedure, it is necessary to wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap.
If you use a terry towel, you need to wash it often and iron it with a hot iron. It should also not be used by other family members, so we should clearly mark it or hang it elsewhere. During the treatment of athlete’s foot, you should also wear socks so as not to spread mushrooms around the house and not to expose the household members to contact with them. The socks must be cotton to allow air to reach the skin! We also recommend Antibacterial bamboo pressure-free socks with aloe vera.
Footwear that we wear during the treatment should provide the skin with light and air, so light sandals or flip-flops are the best. It is good if they are made of plastic that allows regular washing and disinfection of the inside of the shoes.
Have you noticed any lesions on your feet? Check what your family doctor will say. Register on haloDoctor to get expert opinion.
Do you have athlete’s foot? Discard contaminated shoes
There is something else that we usually forget – if mycosis has attacked our feet, we need to make sure that we have removed it not only from our feet, towels or socks. Shoes are an important bastion in which they can defend themselves for a long time. Although this is not good news, because shoes are expensive and we are especially attached to them, you will have to throw away the shoes that we wore just before and during the infection. Otherwise, athlete’s foot will recur.
It used to be advisable to disinfect shoes with formalin, but it’s not entirely safe, and formalin is often a sensitiser. If you decide to use formalin, you need to ensure that the shoes are well dried and aired after soaking them from the inside.
Onychomycosis – Symptoms and Treatment
If athlete’s foot is not treated, it can affect the nails. It starts with discoloration of the side of the nail plate (it turns yellow and finally black) and ends with the destruction of the entire nail plate: the plate thickens, rises and begins to hurt. In the advanced form of the disease, the nail plate begins to detach from the nail bed, and the toe becomes painful, sensitive to the slightest pressure, and even the most comfortable shoes hurt it.
Usually, the mycosis appears on one nail and sometimes it stays there, but it can also affect other ones.
Mycosis is very often associated with the occurrence of psoriasis, so in this case you can use EPTA PSO 10 Psoriasis Skin Emulsion or EPTA PSO 50 Plus Intensive Cream for psoriasis lesions, which can be purchased separately or in a Set with 50% urea for body care with with psoriasis EPTA PSO 50 or in the comprehensive kit for the care of the body, scalp and nails with psoriasis EPTA PSO.
Infection of the neighboring nails is prevented by starting treatment as soon as possible.
However, if we neglect ourselves, we may even require the surgical removal of patients with onychomycosis.
The treatment begins with the use of anti-fungal creams or ointments. The regeneration of the skin is supported by, for example, BIO cream for dry feet with Propolia BeeYes propolis. The treatment lasts for several or even several weeks, often treatment needs to be supported with oral medications. We continue the treatments until the diseased nail is completely replaced with a new, healthy nail. During the treatment, similar rules apply as in the case of athlete’s foot – cotton socks, disposable towels or a separate towel, light airy footwear are required. We should also remember about regular, short nail clipping.
When treating onychomycosis, you can opt for a painless laser treatment. You can find the offer on the Medonet Market.
Medical consultation: Aleksandra Rymsza, MD, PhD; specialist in dermatology, Medicover