Athlete’s Foot: How to prevent and treat it

Ever felt itching, stinging or burning between your toes? You may have encountered athlete’s foot. A fairly common fungal infection, athlete’s foot affects as many as one in 5 people. While there are many ways to contract this infection, there are also many ways to prevent and treat athlete’s foot.

Athlete’s foot is attracted to hot, moist environments leaving the inside of your shoes high susceptible to this infection. One of the many ways to prevent athlete’s foot is by making sure your feet are dry as can be before slipping on your socks and shoes. Some websites even suggest using a hair dryer to make sure your feet aren’t bringing additional moisture into your shoes. Using cornstarch or baby powder is also a fairly popular idea- in fact  so popular that companies now have  sprays that leave less mess and residue than traditional creams and powders.

While it is called athlete’s foot, anyone can pick up this fungal infection. As an athlete you can take an extra step in preventing athlete’s foot by changing your socks more    frequently and allowing your shoes to completely dry before re-wearing them. Sharing footwear with    other people can greatly increase your odds of contracting athlete’s foot. As  it is a fungal infection, athlete’s foot can be spread quickly  between people- using clean socks and keeping your shoes to yourself can help deter this fungal infection from s  surfacing.

A quick internet search will give you many ways to fight this infection at home through foot soaks in baking soda, vinegar, mustard oil,    tea tree oil, tea, and yogurt just to name a few! With so many over the counter and DIY options- it’s important to consult your doctor  before trying anything to ensure you will be helping things along.