Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesTreatmentPreventionFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Treatment
Prevention
Frequently Asked Questions
Athlete’s footis a form of fungal infection that begins between the toes but can spread to the rest of the feet. It most commonly develops when a person has damp or sweaty feet for an extended period, causing an itchy, scaly rash. Various treatment options are available for athlete’s foot, including prescription medications and home remedies.
This article discusses treatment options for athlete’s foot.
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While the most notable symptom of athlete’s foot is a scaly and itchyrash, other symptoms can develop, including:
What Area of the Foot is Affected?
These fungi tend to grow on the skin, hair, nails, feathers of animals, andmucous membranes. The infection is contagious, and roughly 1 in every 5 adults will have athlete’s foot at some point in their lives.
Who’s Most Likely to Get Athlete’s Foot?The development or spread of athlete’s foot can commonly occur in:People who often use public pools, showers, or fitness centersPeople with obesityPeople who wear closed shoesPeople who have conditions that compromise how well the immune system functionsPeople who work in professions that require industrial footwear, such as miners and soldiersPeople living in long-term care facilities and other communal institutions
Who’s Most Likely to Get Athlete’s Foot?
The development or spread of athlete’s foot can commonly occur in:People who often use public pools, showers, or fitness centersPeople with obesityPeople who wear closed shoesPeople who have conditions that compromise how well the immune system functionsPeople who work in professions that require industrial footwear, such as miners and soldiersPeople living in long-term care facilities and other communal institutions
The development or spread of athlete’s foot can commonly occur in:
Athlete’s Foot Treatment
There are various treatment options available for people with athlete’s foot, including home remedies and medication.
Home Remedies
Home remedies are often highly effective for athlete’s foot. Some possible home remedies include:
Essential Oils and Athlete’s FootCertain essential oils such as thyme, peppermint, and clove possess antifungal properties that may help treat an athlete’s foot infection.However, using them correctly is important as they can do more harm than good if misused. Therefore, all essential oils should be diluted using a carrier oil.
Essential Oils and Athlete’s Foot
Certain essential oils such as thyme, peppermint, and clove possess antifungal properties that may help treat an athlete’s foot infection.However, using them correctly is important as they can do more harm than good if misused. Therefore, all essential oils should be diluted using a carrier oil.
Topical Medication
Various types oftopical medicationscan be found either over-the-counter (OTC) or through a prescription.
These medications fall into the antifungals category. Antifungals are designed to kill fungus and slow its growth. Some OTC remedies include:
Prescription antifungal medications are often recommended for more serious cases and are highly effective because they come in higher strengths. Medication strengths determine how much of the medicinal ingredient is found in the medicine.
Some prescriptions available for the treatment of athlete’s foot include:
Topical medications should be applied twice daily until the infection has cleared.
How Long Will The Infection Last?After you have begun treatment, your case of athlete’s foot will likely clear up within two to four weeks.
How Long Will The Infection Last?
After you have begun treatment, your case of athlete’s foot will likely clear up within two to four weeks.
Over-the-Counter Antifungals for Athlete’s Foot
Other Treatments
When to See a Healthcare Provider If Treatment Does’t WorkIf at-home treatment isn’t working and your infection persists or worsens, contact your healthcare provider for an appointment. They will discuss further treatment options with you. You should also see your healthcare provider if the infection spreads to other parts of the body.
When to See a Healthcare Provider If Treatment Does’t Work
If at-home treatment isn’t working and your infection persists or worsens, contact your healthcare provider for an appointment. They will discuss further treatment options with you. You should also see your healthcare provider if the infection spreads to other parts of the body.
The 9 Best Athlete’s Foot Treatments to Soothe Your Feet
While athlete’s foot is common and treatable, it is still better to do what you can to prevent the infection. Some prevention techniques include:
Medication for Athlete’s Foot
Summary
Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that starts as a scaly rash in the area between your toes. As the infection spreads, it can lead to other symptoms such as thick skin patches and blisters. The infection is common. It often spreads in public areas such as swimming pools and public showers. It can also develop in people who have damp feet a lot of the time.
Treating athlete’s foot can be done effectively at home with OTC remedies and alternative therapies such as essential oils. After beginning treatment, the infection should clear up within two to four weeks. If it worsens or doesn’t clear up after four weeks, contact your healthcare provider for stronger medication.
A Word From Verywell
The best thing you can do to prevent the infection is to keep your feet nice and dry whenever possible and avoid areas where the likelihood of contracting it is high.
Severe Athlete’s Foot: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Treatment
Frequently Asked QuestionsThe time it takes to cure athlete’s foot will vary depending on how severe it is. Some treatments are also stronger than others. If you want to heal your athlete’s foot fast, you can get a prescription for an antifungal treatment from your healthcare provider.If you have athlete’s foot, you can easily spread it to other people in your household. While wearing socks all the time may not be possible, you should aim to wear them as much as you can while you have the infection and to bed at night to protect your partner from contracting it.Not everyone that has athlete’s foot will experience the same healing timeline. Some people may heal in as little as two weeks, while others may take up to four weeks to heal. The treatment you use and how severe the infection is will determine your healing time.Athlete’s foot will not heal on its own. The fungus that causes the infection will continue to grow and multiply causing the infection to spread. When that happens, the infection will only worsen over time.
The time it takes to cure athlete’s foot will vary depending on how severe it is. Some treatments are also stronger than others. If you want to heal your athlete’s foot fast, you can get a prescription for an antifungal treatment from your healthcare provider.
If you have athlete’s foot, you can easily spread it to other people in your household. While wearing socks all the time may not be possible, you should aim to wear them as much as you can while you have the infection and to bed at night to protect your partner from contracting it.
Not everyone that has athlete’s foot will experience the same healing timeline. Some people may heal in as little as two weeks, while others may take up to four weeks to heal. The treatment you use and how severe the infection is will determine your healing time.
Athlete’s foot will not heal on its own. The fungus that causes the infection will continue to grow and multiply causing the infection to spread. When that happens, the infection will only worsen over time.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Athlete’s foot.Gupta, K.Topical treatments for athlete’s foot.Cochrane Database of Syst Rev.2018;1:CD010863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010863.pub2Penn Medicine.What is athlete’s foot?Zubko EI, Zubko MK.Co-operative inhibitory effects of hydrogen peroxide and iodine against bacterial and yeast species.BMC Res Notes.2013;6:272. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-272Flores FC, de Lima JA, Ribeiro RF, et al.Antifungal activity of nanocapsule suspensions containing tea tree oil on the growth of Trichophyton rubrum.Mycopathologia.2013;175(3-4):281-286. doi:10.1007/s11046-013-9622-7Aala F, Yusuf UK, Nulit R, Rezaie S.Inhibitory effect of allicin and garlic extracts on growth of cultured hyphae.Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2014;17(3):150-154.D’agostino M, Tesse N, Frippiat JP, Machouart M, Debourgogne A.Essential oils and their natural active compounds presenting antifungal properties.Molecules.2019;24(20):3713. doi:10.3390/molecules24203713Thomas B, Falk J, Allan GM.Topical management of tinea pedis.Can Fam Physician.2021;67(1):30. doi:10.46747/cfp.670130
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Athlete’s foot.Gupta, K.Topical treatments for athlete’s foot.Cochrane Database of Syst Rev.2018;1:CD010863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010863.pub2Penn Medicine.What is athlete’s foot?Zubko EI, Zubko MK.Co-operative inhibitory effects of hydrogen peroxide and iodine against bacterial and yeast species.BMC Res Notes.2013;6:272. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-272Flores FC, de Lima JA, Ribeiro RF, et al.Antifungal activity of nanocapsule suspensions containing tea tree oil on the growth of Trichophyton rubrum.Mycopathologia.2013;175(3-4):281-286. doi:10.1007/s11046-013-9622-7Aala F, Yusuf UK, Nulit R, Rezaie S.Inhibitory effect of allicin and garlic extracts on growth of cultured hyphae.Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2014;17(3):150-154.D’agostino M, Tesse N, Frippiat JP, Machouart M, Debourgogne A.Essential oils and their natural active compounds presenting antifungal properties.Molecules.2019;24(20):3713. doi:10.3390/molecules24203713Thomas B, Falk J, Allan GM.Topical management of tinea pedis.Can Fam Physician.2021;67(1):30. doi:10.46747/cfp.670130
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Athlete’s foot.Gupta, K.Topical treatments for athlete’s foot.Cochrane Database of Syst Rev.2018;1:CD010863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010863.pub2Penn Medicine.What is athlete’s foot?Zubko EI, Zubko MK.Co-operative inhibitory effects of hydrogen peroxide and iodine against bacterial and yeast species.BMC Res Notes.2013;6:272. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-272Flores FC, de Lima JA, Ribeiro RF, et al.Antifungal activity of nanocapsule suspensions containing tea tree oil on the growth of Trichophyton rubrum.Mycopathologia.2013;175(3-4):281-286. doi:10.1007/s11046-013-9622-7Aala F, Yusuf UK, Nulit R, Rezaie S.Inhibitory effect of allicin and garlic extracts on growth of cultured hyphae.Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2014;17(3):150-154.D’agostino M, Tesse N, Frippiat JP, Machouart M, Debourgogne A.Essential oils and their natural active compounds presenting antifungal properties.Molecules.2019;24(20):3713. doi:10.3390/molecules24203713Thomas B, Falk J, Allan GM.Topical management of tinea pedis.Can Fam Physician.2021;67(1):30. doi:10.46747/cfp.670130
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Athlete’s foot.
Gupta, K.Topical treatments for athlete’s foot.Cochrane Database of Syst Rev.2018;1:CD010863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010863.pub2
Penn Medicine.What is athlete’s foot?
Zubko EI, Zubko MK.Co-operative inhibitory effects of hydrogen peroxide and iodine against bacterial and yeast species.BMC Res Notes.2013;6:272. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-272
Flores FC, de Lima JA, Ribeiro RF, et al.Antifungal activity of nanocapsule suspensions containing tea tree oil on the growth of Trichophyton rubrum.Mycopathologia.2013;175(3-4):281-286. doi:10.1007/s11046-013-9622-7
Aala F, Yusuf UK, Nulit R, Rezaie S.Inhibitory effect of allicin and garlic extracts on growth of cultured hyphae.Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2014;17(3):150-154.
D’agostino M, Tesse N, Frippiat JP, Machouart M, Debourgogne A.Essential oils and their natural active compounds presenting antifungal properties.Molecules.2019;24(20):3713. doi:10.3390/molecules24203713
Thomas B, Falk J, Allan GM.Topical management of tinea pedis.Can Fam Physician.2021;67(1):30. doi:10.46747/cfp.670130
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