Athletes Foot
Athletes foot is a common medical complaint, but while this is so, many people still don't understand what athletes foot is, let alone what causes athletes foot. This lack of awareness serves to help the same mistakes in foot care to be repeated over and over, whilst simple preventative methods can help stop athletes foot from developing in the first place.
We'll begin this article by first explaining what athletes foot is. Athletes foot is the result of a fungal attack on the skin of our feet. The fungus which causes athletes foot usually lives harmlessly on our feet in small quantities but - as we'll examine shortly - can often gain too much of a foothold and become a problem. The symptoms of athletes foot can be most unpleasant to bear, and may result in the development of a dry, flaky, cracked scaly skin on the sole of the foot, as well as pustules and open sores.
As explained, the fungus responsible usually lives in small quantities on our feet but is harmless. If however, due to reasons such as excess sweating of our feet, as well as lack of foot hygiene such as frequent washing and changing socks, the fungi can become much greater in numbers. This increases the risk of the fungi finding a weak entry point to get under our skin, where the real problems start. An entry point may be the tiniest of cuts, grazes, scratches or bruises on our skin. Some people may find they have developed athletes foot despite keeping their feet in good hygiene, and most of these cases will be down to catching athletes foot from somebody else. For instance, walking on the same floors as an infected person is not a good idea as athletes foot can be picked up.
The best way to avoid athletes foot is to always keep your feet as perspiration-free as possible by using breathable footwear, bathing your feet regularly and drying your feet thoroughly after bathing. Also change your socks after bathing, so you don't reintroduce the fungi back onto you feet.
Treating athletes foot is as simple as buying a good anti-fungal athletes foot treatment from your pharmacist, or getting a prescription from your doctor. As a rule of thumb, treatment should continue for a couple of weeks after the infection appears to have cleared. This will ensure no immediate reoccurrences as the last of the infection will be completely killed.
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