How to Spot Causes of Athletes Foot Symptoms

Athlete’s foot is a condition primarily caused by fungi, but it could also be placed under the category of auto immune diseases. The reason why it is called athlete’s foot is because athletes are the most prone when it comes to having this infection. Why? Let’s find out.

Fungi are a group of microorganisms that thrive in dark and damp places. This primary characteristic makes athletes extremely susceptible since their feet are usually soaked with sweat for long periods. Medical practitioners often refer to athlete’s foot as tinea pedis. Tinea is the causative fungi organism, and “pedis” means “foot.” However, this is a misnomer since tinea pedis does not only affect the feet, but palms and fingers as well.

Risk factors for getting tinea pedis would include constant exposure to dampness. This creates a very nutritious environment where fungi can grow. Wearing non-breathable material would cause dampness to build up. This would mean that the kind of shoes that you wear actually affect your susceptibility of being a fungi host. Shoes that are made of non-breathable material would be the rubber shoes that most of us favor. Rubber does not allow free airflow, thus causing sweat build-up. Most shoe manufacturers are now looking into ways of developing a “breathable” shoe. Some of them are even in stores right now.

Another thing about shoes is that if it is not cleaned properly, it could cause a recurrence of athlete’s foot symptoms. You may have been healed, but once you put your foot into that shoe again, you should expect a recurrence. The best thing for you to do would be to have your shoes, and I mean all of them, disinfected. There are great antifungal sprays that are good for easy fungi eradication. Spray them on every time you wear your shoes just to be safe.

What a lot of people do not know about tinea pedis is that it is contagious, and that fungi do not necessarily have to live on your foot in order to survive. Let me give you a better picture. Let’s say a person with an infected foot starts walking barefoot in public locker rooms. The fungi on his feet would transfer to the floor and would live on the areas that are constantly damp, like those found in-between tiles. The next barefoot individual that steps on those tiles would get the fungi on his feet, thus causing the onset of athlete’s foot. So, whenever you are in the gym or in public places where you have to share showers, always wear slippers. These protect your feet from getting any nasty surprises.

Athlete’s foot symptoms could lead to very embarrassing situations. Imagine having itchy feet that seem to be emitting a very bad odor every time you take them out of your shoes. The bad smell of feet is akin to that of rotten eggs. Who would want that? Prevent athlete’s foot from taking over. Avoid the risk factors mentioned above, and your feet will be happy that you did.