Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It SpreadsHow Long It’s ContagiousPreventionTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How It Spreads
How Long It’s Contagious
Prevention
Treatment
Until the infection is fully cleared withantifungal drugs,athlete’s foot remains highly contagious. Good foot hygiene and preventive practices (like wearing flip-flops in public showers) can help you avoid catching this common fungal skin infection.
How Does Athlete’s Foot Spread?
These fungi thrive in moist, warm environments, which makes the feet and toes the perfect targets for infection. Once the skin is infected, the dermatophytes emit spores that land on the surrounding skin and bud, spreading the infection in an outward direction.
Dermatophytes inhabit flaking skin which can slough off the body and land on surfaces. These can be picked up when you walk on them.
There are several different routes of infection for athlete’s foot, including:
How Long Is Athlete’s Foot Contagious?
Athlete’s foot can be difficult to treat and generally does not go away on its own without treatment. Until the infection is fully cleared, the fungi can easily be passed to others.
This is because dermatophytes are extremely robust and resistant to environmental changes. Even when the fungi are in a dry environment, the spores can form hardened shells and persist for years until a moist environment is found.
Athlete’s foot fungi arekeratinophilic, meaning that they feed on a protein calledkeratinthat makes up nails, hair, and dead skin cells. Once the fungus gets onto the skin, its branches (calledhyphae) will start to burrow and release enzymes to break up and digest keratin.
These enzymes irritate the skin, causing itchiness and scratching. Scratching, in turn, helps drive the fungi into deeper tissues where they are better able to propagate. Until treatment is delivered, the infection can persist and spread through cycles of irritation and scratching.
The bottom line is this: As long as the fungus is still on the skin of your feet, even duringtreatment, you can pass it on to others.
On the other hand, once athlete’s foot is treated, the infection should clear up within two to four weeks.
Prevention Tips
Athlete’s foot is highly contagious, affecting up to 70% of the world’s population at some point in their lives.
To reduce your risk of infection, here are several simple things you can do:
If you live with someone who has athlete’s foot, don’t share towels, clothing, or shoes. Be sure to wear shoes or slippers in rooms that you share (such as the bathroom) and wear socks in bed to prevent the spread of infection while you sleep.
Protecting Others
How to Treat Tinea Pedis
The first-line treatment for athlete’s foot is a topicalantifungalcream or ointment applied directly to the skin. These includeover-the-counter topical antifungalslike:
Applied twice daily, the antifungal cream or ointment will usually clear the infection in one to three weeks. Continue application for one additional week to ensure the fungus is fully killed. After each application, wash your hands with soap and water.
If these OTC options don’t work, an oral antifungal may be prescribed along with a stronger topical cream or ointment. Oral options include:
Your healthcare provider may also prescribe a topicalsalicylic acidto help break down thickened skin so that the topical antifungal can be better absorbed.
Athlete’s foot can quickly return if you don’t finish the course of treatment or don’t practice good after-care practices (like keeping your feet dry and cool).Vigilance and consistency can better ensure the infection is fully cleared and does not return.
Summary
Athlete’s foot rarely goes away on its own and requires treatment with topical antifungals (and sometimes oral antifungals). Until the infection is fully cleared, athlete’s foot remains highly contagious.
6 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.
Sahoo AK, Mahajan R.Management of tinea corporis, tinea cruris, and tinea pedis: a comprehensive review.Indian Dermatol Online J. 2016;7(2):77-86. doi:10.4103/2229-5178.178099
Cedars Sinai.Tinea infection.
National Health Service (UK).Athlete’s foot.
Gupta A.Topical treatments for athlete’s foot.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2018;2018(1):CD010863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010863.pub2
American Academy of Dermatology Association.How to prevent athlete’s foot.
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