Athlete's foot
What is Athlete's Foot?
Athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is a fungal infection of the skin caused by dermatophyte infection. (the most common of these are called T. mentagrophytes and T. interdigitale). It is characterised by itching, flaking and cracking of the skin. It may manifest in three ways: the skin between the toes may appear macerated (white) and soggy; the soles of the feet may become dry and scaly; and the skin all over the foot may become red, and blisters may appear.1
How common is it?
UK estimates suggest that athlete's foot is present in about 15% of the general population. A population based study conducted in 1148 children found the prevalence among children to be twice as high at 30%.
What's the outcome?
Fungal infections of the foot are not life threatening in people with healthy immune systems, but in some people they cause persistent itching and, ultimately, painful cracking of the skin. Other people are apparently unaware of persistent infection. The infection can spread to other parts of the body and to other individuals.
Treatment
The safest treatment is topical antifungal products, (such as clotrimazole, ketoconazole and tolnaftate) but recurrence is common and treatment must often be prolonged. It is important to ensure that once treatment is started, the course advised by your doctor or pharmacist is completed and that disinfection of any clothes, bed linen and bath mats that may have come into contact with the infected feet is carried out in the laundry. Eradicil has been designed for this function and can disinfect a wash even at low temperatures.
Prevention
The best way to prevent athlete's foot is to follow good foot hygiene. Some simple steps that can be followed to keep feet clean and hygienic are outlined below.
- Wash feet daily, particularly in between toes.
- Reduce foot perspiration by using talcum powder on feet.
- Avoid tight-fitting footwear, particularly during the summer.
- Wash towels and bedding frequently.
- Do not put on socks, tights or stockings before feet are completely dry.
- Where possible, wear flip-flops, or plastic sandals in communal changing rooms or shower areas.
- Change socks, stockings, or tights, on a regular basis.
1 MJ Clinical evidence 2006 11. 1712
2 Leibovici V, Evron R, Dunchin M, et al. Population-based epidemiologic study of tinea pedis in Israeli children. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2002;21:851–4
3 English MP, Wethered RR, Duncan EHL. Studies in the epidemiology of tenea pedis. Br Med J. 1967; 3:136-9
4 NHS Direct website: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk