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Athlete's foot

 

Publication date Sep 06, 2007

Athlete's foot is an infection that can make the skin on your feet flaky and itchy. It isn't serious. But it's better to treat it sooner rather than later. Otherwise the infection might spread and become harder to treat.

What is athlete's foot?

Athlete's foot is a skin infection caused by a tiny fungus. It's very easy to catch. You can pick it up if you walk barefoot in warm, damp places, such as in the changing rooms and showers at gyms. Or you can catch it if you touch the skin of someone who already has it. Your feet are the perfect place for this infection to grow, especially between your toes. Your feet are warm, often slightly damp, and full of keratin. Fungi feed on keratin, which is a protein found in nails, skin and hair.

What are the symptoms?

Athlete's foot can cause lots of different symptoms. You might get some of the following:

If your skin gets hot, red and swollen you could have a bacterial infection too. You'll need to get an antibiotic drug to treat this. Otherwise it may spread. If you think you have a bacterial infection as well as athlete's foot, see your doctor.

What treatments work?

You can treat athlete's foot yourself with treatments you can buy from a pharmacy without a prescription. Treatments come as creams, sprays and powders that you put on your feet.

Medicines that you put on your feet

There are many creams, sprays and powders you can buy from a drugstore. These treatments all work equally well. They get rid of athlete's foot in about 7 in 10 people. But some may work slightly faster than others.

  • Ones that contain terbinafine get rid of athlete's foot after about one to four weeks. The brand name is Lamisil. You might get a mild rash or itching when you use this cream or spray. This will go away when you stop treatment.
  • Ones that contain an azole drug take about four to six weeks to get rid of athlete's foot. There are several different azole drugs. They include clotrimazole (brand name Canesten, miconazole (Daktarin), econazole (Ecostatin, Pevaryl), ketoconazole (Daktarin Gold, Nizoral) and sulconazole (Exelderm). These treatments might sting and make your skin look red and scaly. But this will go away when you stop treatment.
  • Undecenoates come as liquid that you paint on to your skin and as a cream. The brand name for the paint is Monphytol. The brand name for the cream is Mycota. They can sometimes irritate your skin.
  • Products that contain tolnaftate (common brand name Tinaderm-M) may slightly irritate your skin.

Things you can do for yourself

There's no research to say whether washing and drying your feet carefully and wearing clean socks every day can help to get rid of athlete's foot once you have it. But keeping your feet clean and dry should help you avoid getting athlete's foot again. Here are some tips:

  • Take your shoes off at home and let your feet 'breathe'
  • Wear sandals when you can
  • If you have diabetes, you can let you feet get some air, but don't walk around barefoot or in open shoes
  • Always take off sweaty sports shoes when you have finished using them
  • Put on clean socks every day
  • Wear cotton, silk or wool socks rather than synthetic (nylon) ones
  • Wear shoes made of leather or canvas. These let your feet breathe more than plastic shoes
  • If your shoes are sweaty or wet, let them dry out before you put them on again
  • After you have a bath or shower, dry your feet carefully, especially between your toes
  • Wear flip-flops or sandals in public changing rooms
  • If you've had athlete's foot, spray the inside of your shoes with a spray to kill the fungus (called an antifungal).

Tablets

There are tablets you can take for athlete's foot. But these don't work any better than medicines that you put on your feet. And they tend to cause more side effects. Your doctor may prescribe one of these if you've tried other treatments and they haven't worked:

  • fluconazole (brand name Diflucan)
  • itraconazole (Sporanox)
  • ketoconazole (Nizoral)
  • terbinafine (Lamisil).

You can only get these tablets on prescription from your doctor. They can cause indigestion, nausea, diarrhoea, headaches and rashes.

What will happen to me?

Athlete's foot isn't serious. And treatments that you put on your feet will usually get rid of the infection. If you don't treat athlete's foot, the infection may spread to your fingernails and your toenails, when it becomes harder to treat.

You don't have to stop playing sport or wearing sports shoes if you have athlete's foot. But it's a good idea to always wear something on your feet to avoid spreading the infection to other people. It's worth carrying a pair of flip-flops in your gym bag and wearing them in the changing room and shower and when you walk around the pool.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.

© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved

This information does not replace medical advice.
If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.