One of the major problems people experience when it comes to their feet is having a skin infection such as athlete's foot. Being one of the most common skin diseases experienced by people all over the world, athlete's foot is not considered as a harmful or deadly skin disease unless it leads to other serious complications.

Contrary to common perception, athlete's foot is not only experienced by athletes alone. This skin disease is experienced by a person or persons who keep/s their the feet and other areas of the body moist and warm without doing proper hygiene and thus leading to irritation of the upper layer of the skin where the fungus thrives.

ATHLETE'S FOOT 101

A skin infection in the foot caused by a fungus called "trichophyton," athlete's foot is also known "tinea pedis."

According to medical experts, the types of athlete's foot can be categorized into three: the Chronic interdigital athlete's foot, the Chronic scaly athlete's foot (moccasin type) and the Acute vesicular athlete's foot. Chronic Interdigital Athlete's Foot is considered as the most common type of the skin disease experienced by people. It is usually characterized by scaling, fissures, and maceration found in the 4th and 5th toe webs. This type is usually the result of wearing tight-fitting and non-porous shoes that compress the toes, thus, creating a warm and moist environment between the toe webs.

The Moccasin Type Athlete's Foot, on the other hand, produces dry, silvery, and very fine scaly skin on the sole of person's foot. This type does not only infect the feet but the hands as well. People who have eczema or skin asthma are usually prone to this type of athlete's foot.

The Acute Vesicular Athlete's Foot is considered as the least common type of the skin disease and is traced to those who already have chronic interdigital toe web infection. Characterized by the abrupt inception of extremely painful blisters found on the sole or top of the person's foot, this type is considered as a serious skin disease because leads to waves of blisters visible in the remote sites of the body like the arms, chest, and sides of the fingers.

Generally, the usual symptoms of athlete's foot may include itching, smelly, and burning feet. Is the skin disease becomes more serious, it can lead to cracking of the skin, extremely painful blisters and bleeding.

Experts say that athlete's foot can be treated into two ways. First, the patient should maintain a regular hygiene or routine. They can start by developing a routine that would make the infected area less or not suitable for the fungus. This can be done by keeping the infected area clean and dry at all times. Wearing shoes that are made of breathable material, using clean and absorbent socks and using athlete's foot powders to keep the area dry can help.

Another part of the treatment involves the use of medicated anti-fungal creams such miconazole, clotrimazole and others to kill the fungus would solve the problem. Make sure that you ask your physician or dermatologist first before you use any medicated product so you will know the proper way of using it.