You Don’t Have To Be An Athlete To Get Athlete’s Foot

You notice a scaly rash in between your toes when you go to change your shoes. You may have athlete’s foot. You can be any age and not even athletic to get athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot, or tinea pedis, is the most common disease affecting the feet and toes. Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection. Fungi thrive in warm, moist places, such as between toes. It is contagious and can easily spread throughout a household. You get it by direct contact with contaminated places such as shoes, socks, showers, locker rooms, and pool surfaces.

Athlete’s Foot Symptoms

Along with a scaly rash, you may be experiencing itchiness, redness, inflammation, and blisters. Some people may not have any symptoms at all. It is important to treat athlete’s foot especially your are a diabetic, immune compromised, or elderly because there can be further complications. Bacterial infections such as cellulitis can occur once someone has athlete’s foot due to cracks in the feet.

How to Treat Athlete’s Foot

While athlete’s foot is treatable, it can be hard to cure. The rash is usually treated with topical anti-fungal creams. The goal is to clear the fungus and keep the feet as dry as possible. Topical anti-fungal creams are used for about one month and can be used after the infection is clear to prevent the fungus from reoccurring.

At Dermatology Specialty Care, our dermatologists Dr. Kenneth Egan, Sarah Tullo, APRN and Dr. Rand Werbitt specialize in all of your family’s skincare needs in general medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology including shingles, impetigo, acne, skin cancer, eczema, warts, moles, fungal nail infections, rashes and scars. Our dermatology offices are located in the Fairfield County, CT towns of Danbury, Norwalk and Ridgefield.

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