Athlete's Foot (Tinea Pedis)

What Is It?

Athlete's foot, also known as tinea pedis, is a common foot infection caused by fungi called dermatophytes. Found in many different places indoors and outdoors, dermatophytes are especially common in the warm, moist environments of pools, showers, locker rooms and other sports facilities, where people walk with bare feet. Once dermatophytes contaminate the skin of someone's foot, the warm, moist environment of sweaty socks and shoes encourage them to grow.

Symptoms

Symptoms of athlete's foot include:

• Intense itching of the feet
• Cracked, blistered or peeling areas of skin, especially between the toes
• Redness and scaling on the soles

In most people, signs of infection are seen on the webbed skin between the toes. In some people, the infection spreads to one or more toenails, causing the nail to appear unusually thick and cloudy yellow.

Diagnosis

Your health care provider will ask you about your symptoms and about factors that make you more likely to develop athlete's foot, such as your use of public sports facilities, clubs or showers. He or she also will ask about your foot care habits, including the type of shoes and socks you wear, what kind of work you do and what you wear on your feet to work.

Your health care provider usually can diagnose athlete's foot simply by looking at your feet. He or she can confirm the diagnosis by gently scraping some flakes of skin from a scaly portion of your foot onto a slide. The dermatophytes that cause the infection often show up under a microscope.

Expected Duration

Response to treatment usually takes several weeks to months. Even after proper medical treatment, the infection can recur easily if your feet are exposed again to fungi and sweaty, warm conditions. For this reason, many people have persisting and recurring athlete's foot infection for many years. Successfully curing the infection often requires changes in how you care for your feet and what you wear on your feet.

Prevention

Prevention is as important as medications in treating athlete's foot because of frequent recurrences. In general, you can help to prevent athlete's foot by keeping your feet clean and dry. More specifically, you can try the following:

• Wash your feet thoroughly every day and wear a clean pair of socks after your bath or shower.