How To Treat Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s Foot is very easily treatable with over the counter medicines in most cases. If your Athlete’s Foot symptoms get really bad or last longer than two weeks you should go see a doctor. They may do some tests to find a more suitable and stronger medication.

The usual treatment for Athlete’s Foot is an anti fungal cream. It is very important that you follow the instructions on the cream. You should make sure your feet are clean and dry before applying it, and make sure you apply it to the affected area, as well as an area 4-6 cm around the affected area. This is because the infection may have spread further but not yet be showing symptoms. Some people suggest you should soak your feet in lukewarm salted water before applying the cream, although the effect of this has not been proved. You should always wash your hands thoroughly after putting the cream on. The course of treatment varies but you should always continue it for the recommended length of time, even after the symptoms have cleared. If you don’t want to use an anti fungal cream, you can also now obtain sprays, liquids and powder treatments, usually over the counter without a prescription.

If your symptoms include really bad inflammation and itching, you could also try an anti fungal cream which has hydrocortisone in it. This will reduce the itching and the inflamed area.

Do not use a generic anti itch cream on Athlete’s Foot. It may relieve the itching but these creams are an ideal breeding ground for the parasites which cause the infection so it could actually make things worse.

There are some natural remedies that can be used alongside regular medications. There are not many studies about these so their efficacy may be more myth than reality. However, alongside regular medications they may be of use. Tea tree oil is one such natural ‘remedy’. It does have anti fungal properties but it would not be a good idea to use it undiluted. It may have some benefit added to a foot bath before applying topical medications.

Onion extract and garlic extract are also thought to be of benefit. They do both have anti bacterial properties so taken as an extra remedy with your medicated products they may help speed up the recovery time.

Whether you use alternative treatments or not, it is important to use the regular treatments too, and to maintain good hygiene at all times.

Copyright 2009