Things You'll Need:
- Gauze
- Astringent
- Antifungal powders
- Antifungal creams
- Cotton swabs
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Step 1
Apply a topical antifungal ointment such as miconazole or clotrimazole 2 to 3 times a day. Reapply after showering and before going to bed.
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Step 2
Dry carefully between each toe whenever your feet get wet. Consider using a hair dryer set on low to thoroughly dry your feet.
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Step 3
Place cotton balls between your toes at night if your feet perspire excessively when you sleep.
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Step 4
Avoid harsh soaps, especially deodorant soaps.
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Step 5
Sprinkle an antifungal powder containing miconazole or clotrimazole into your shoes when you plan to wear your shoes for several hours.
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Step 6
Pour a small amount of astringent onto a piece of gauze and wipe the crusty areas on your feet and between your toes. Then let the gauze sit on the crusty spots for a few minutes. The astringent will draw more moisture from your foot.
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Step 7
Go barefoot as much as possible during the acute phase of athlete's foot.
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Step 8
Ask your doctor for a prescription of oral griseofulvin for athlete's foot that spreads or will not go away.
Comments
ansu101 said
on 7/20/2009 Step 7 sounds highly ridiculous, why would you try to be barefoot as much as possible? Thats how dirt picks up from the groud and also thats how other people can pick it up from the ground. what if a baby was crawling around on the floor, hmm? And babys always stick fingers in thier mouths. What kind of advice is that? I'm sure there are other ways to keep your feet cool with fresh air, rather than risker others.
bridget40 said
on 7/9/2009 I recently found a cedarsoles product that helps keep my feet dryer and also makes them smell good. Although it's made from cedarwood, these insoles are very flexible and pleasant to my foot skin. Maybe someone else give it a try.
user13 said
on 6/20/2009 6/19/2009 I had Athlete's Foot for 3 years, tried all creams without success. I read in the blog about bleach and put my feet in bleach mixed in water few times. It seems I have healthy skin between my toes now. Worth to try.
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 I've been combating athlete's foot since I was a teenager. None of the topical cremes or sprays work, so I went to my doctor who, prescribed me Nizerol at the time, and now prescribes me Lamisil. The pills worked, but it always comes back a year or so later.
My mother recently had a minor fungal infection and somewhere heard to wrap it up in a wash cloth soaked with mouthwash. Oddly enough; it went away.
I figured it wouldn't hurt, so I bought a big bottle of the generic mouthwash from WalMart and soaked my foot in it for 30 minutes (yes it's cold and the smell is somewhat overbearing). I even bathed immediately afterward to rid myself of the smell. One week later the athlete's foot was gone after only one soak. I don't know how efficient this is or even why it works, but a $3 no-brainer treatment was much easier than a $300 pill treatment.
I don't know how effective this would be for anyone else, and it does sound weird, but it's cheap and easy, and worth a try in my opinion.
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 I caught Athlete's Foot in the R.A.F. and suffered many years with it. A friend advised me that the only thing to kill the fungus is boracic acid powder.
This powder works, but it is messy and fiddly to put in shoes and socks daily. After this powder became unobtainable I found that Borax, a water softener and pre-wash soak, is another name for boracic acid.
I now use the following treatment twice a year to keep my feet healthy.
Soak the feet in a bowl of hot water containing the Borax and keep soaking until the water goes cold. Remove the feet from the bowl and allow to dry naturally. This allows the Borax to penetrate into and remain in the top layers of skin where the fungus spores live and grow.
This treatment also appears to remove embarrassing foot odor instantly.