Athlete's Foot is an extremely common skin infection of the foot and is fungal infection. The foot is targeted because 'Trichophyton' , the type of fungus that causes athlete's foot, needs areas that are moist, warm and where a large amount of irritation (friction) occurs.

The specific name for the fungus that attacks the foot is 'tinea pedis' but it is commonly known as ringworm fungus, and it is often thought to be highly contagious, although there is a common belief that certain individuals do have a resistance to the infection. Athlete's foot is often spread by direct or indirect contact with an infected area via another person or with direct contact with gym floors, locker rooms, swimming pools, shared footwear and nail salons.

Although the infection can be spread relatively easily, without perfect growing conditions it will struggle to infect the skin but it is also believed that 70 % of the population will eventually have athlete's foot at one point during their lives, so common is the infection.

What are the symptoms of Athlete's Foot?

The first thing you will notice is a reddening of the skin, this could be anywhere on the foot but the most usual places are the sole and between the toes, this reddening will start to look dry and flaky and will become quite itchy.

Athlete's foot presents itself in three ways normally:

1. Moccasin; which affects the soles of the feet

2. Interdigital; this is found between the toes

3. Inflammatory; this causes blisters usually found on the soles and sides of the feet.

Treatment of Athlete's Foot:

Treatment of Athlete's foot can be broken into two parts: the first is called restrictive treatment and consist of measures that you must put in place to make it impossible or at least very difficult for the infection to thrive.

These measures are straight forward and are:

1. Keep the infected area clean and dry

2. Try and wear footwear that allows your feet to breathe more easily

3. Wear socks made of natural fibers, cotton socks are particularly good

4. Use foot powder, such as miconazole to help keep your feet dry

5. Soak feet regularly in a homemade drying solution of 1part vinegar and 4 parts water

The second part of the treatment involves buying easily obtainable over the counter applications such as clotrimazole, Lamisil and ketoconazole.

Follow the manufacturers instructions and your Athlete's Foot should clear up, however you may have a more resistant variation of the fungus and in this case you should seek advice from your doctor who will probably prescribe a course of much stronger oral antibiotics that will get rid of your infection

Unfortunately, Athlete's Foot sufferers do tend to become regular sufferers of the infection and the trains of the infection they suffer from get increasingly resistant to the treatments available, but there is a treatment that could rid you permanently of Athlete's Foot and you can find more information about this treatment at the end of this article.