Quite a common skin problem, Athlete's foot affects mostly men and young people. This skin problem can be found in the area between the toes, soles of feet fingernails and toenails. Athlete's foot is caused by a fungus called tinea pedis living off the dead skin cells and thriving in moist warm places such as gyms, locker rooms, showers and swimming pools. If you come in contact with wet floors or touch infected socks and shoes, you can contract this disease.
Symptoms are burning sensation between affected areas, itching, redness, scaling and blistering.
Preventing Athlete’s foot -
- To combat athlete's foot, keep your feet dry all the times. After drying your feet, remove any loose skin to allow penetration of medication to the infected area.
- Use medicated powder or baking soda in your shoes and socks to keep your feet dry. It will soak up some of the perspiration and help neutralize the skin.
- Wear cotton or absorbent socks and wash them in hot water with bleach.
- Give your shoes lots of space to breathe and ample time to dry before wearing them again.
- Wipe the inside of the shoes with white vinegar or spray a disinfectant.
- Use antiperspirants to keep down the sweating.
- Dry your feet thoroughly with towel or hair dryer.
Natural Home remedies for Athlete's foot -
- Add 40 drops of tea tree oil to a small quantity of water or olive oil and soak your feet in it for 10 minutes. Towel dry your feet and blow dry to ensure no presence of any moisture. If you still find area still moist, put few drops of tea tree oil on the affected area.
- Dab diluted alcohol on affected area and allow it to dry. The alcohol dissolves the water; helps dry the skin and reduce the risk of attracting the fungus.
- Soak your feet in mixture of apple cider vinegar and water for 10 minutes daily until the symptoms disappear. Apple cider vinegar with its antifungal properties will relieve the itching, peeling and kill the fungus. Instead of soaking your feet, you can also coat the fungus with a cotton ball dipped in apple cider vinegar
- Soak the feet in a solution of baking soda and water for about 30 minutes daily.
- Mix six tbsp of dried chaparral to one quart of boiling cheap whiskey or wine. Reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and steep for 8 hours. Soak your feet in this solution.
- Boil 4 cups of water, add 8-10 broken sticks of cinnamon; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes; remove and steep for 45 minutes. Use as a foot bath. Cinnamon effectively combats both yeast and fungal infections.
- Put some freshly crushed garlic on the affected area and leave it on for half an hour; wash with water. Do this once a day for a week. Alternatively you can use diluted garlic juice, garlic powder or a clove of raw garlic. Garlic is an excellent antibiotic that can kill the fungus causing athlete's foot.
- Add one ounce of chopped fresh ginger to one cup of boiled water and simmer for 20 minutes. Let it cool and apply twice a day to your feet.
- Rub raw honey on the infected areas before bedtime. Cover the feet with an old sock and leave it overnight.
- Soak your feet in herbal tea foot bath of goldenseal and thyme once a day.
- Mix approx 80 - 90 drops of Grapefruit seed extract to two ounce of water and apply to the affected areas with a cotton ball two or three times a day.
- Mix 2 tsp of salt to a pint of warm water and soak your feet for 10 - 15 minutes and dry thoroughly. The salt kills the fungus and reduces perspiration.
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