Home Remedies for Athletes Foot

Athlete's foot is the most common fungal infection of the skin. It's a fungal infection of the feet. It's also known as tinea pedis, or ringworm of the feet. The Trichophyton fungus is responsible for the redness, itching, cracking, and scaling of athlete's foot can also infect the scalp, where it causes hair loss and scaly patches; the body, where it causes round, red, scaly patches that itch; and the groin, where the so-called jock itch causes itching and thickening of the skin. It affects more men than women since men typically wear heavy, often airtight shoes, and fungus loves hot, dark, moist environments.

In most cases, the athlete's foot cause only bothersome redness, itching, flaking, ad scaling on the soles of the feet and between the toes. Though in severe cases, blisters form in the soles of the feet; fissures, or cracks, that weep fluid can as well open between the toes. These fissures are vulnerable to secondary infection. When the infection involves the toenails, it can cause the nails to become discolored and thick. Also, if left untreated, athlete's foot can infect other parts of the body.

Though some severe cases of athlete's foot require a doctor's care, most can effectively treat at home. The book "The Home Remedies Handbook" provide strategies that can help you soothe and heal athlete's foot and keep it from cropping up in the future.

• Avoid moisture. Fungus are often found in moist, dark environment/areas. So the first step includes keeping your feet as dry as possible.
• Dry between your toes too!
• Wash your feet twice a day with soap and water and dry them thoroughly.
• Try to go barefoot or wear open sandals whenever possible.
  
• There are available over-the-counter anti-fungal preparations that are very effective for most cases of athlete's foot.
  
• Mostly, people stop using the anti-fungal preparations as soon as the symptoms of athlete's foot infection go away. But the fungus may still be present. Persistence is important for a total rejection of fungus. Use the medication for three to six weeks to see improvement.
• The tannic acid found in tea is very soothing and helps kill the fungus. Soak your feet in quart of warm water containing six black tea bags.
• If the infection has caused redness and cracks between the toes, the fungal infection may be compounded by a bacterial infection. Soak your feet once a day for 20 minutes in two cap fulls of Betadine to one quart of warm water. And after the Betadine soak, dry your feet well, and apply anti-fungal medication.
• Don't use bleach. While the idea is to dry out the infection, avoid home remedies that involve strong chemicals and solvents, like bleach, alcohol, and floor cleaners.
  
• Ultra violet rays can help dry up the infection and kill active fungus on your skin. So tan your tootsies!
• If you have fungus on your feet, you have fungus on your shoes too. Treat your shoes with Lysol spray or an anti-fungal spray or powder every time you take off your shoes.
• On sunny days, take the laces out of your shoes, pull up their tongues, and set them in a sunny, well ventilated place. The heat and sunshine will help dry out the shoes, eliminate odor, and kill the fungus.
• Switch foot at least every other day. Wear one pair for a day, while you treat the other pair for a day, while you treat the other pair with sunlight and an anti-fungal spray or powder.
• When you have to wear shoes, opt for sandals or other opened-toed shoes, if possible.
• Socks made of natural fibers, like cotton and wool, help to absorb perspiration and keep feet dry.
• When you're in a public places likely to harbor athlete's foot fungus, like the locker room of your favorite gym, wear thongs to limit your exposure to fungus.