What Is Tinea Pedis?

Your feet begin to feel itchy. Soon it is accompanied by a burning or itching sensation, with huge blisters developing on both feet. This condition, commonly known as athlete's foot, is tinea pedis, a fungal infection that commonly affects the feet. Left untreated, the fungus can infect other parts of the body, or other people.

Symptoms

• According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of tinea pedis include an itching, stinging or burning sensation between the toes. This also occurs on the soles of the feet. Itchy blisters and peeling, cracking skin can also develop in these areas. It is sometimes accompanied by excessive dry skin on the bottoms or sides of the feet.

  Tinea pedis also causes the toenails to become thick, ragged or discolored. The toenails may crumble or separate from the nail bed. You can also develop a toenail fungal infection called onychomycosis, another common disease of the nails that constitutes about a half of all nail abnormalities.

Causes

• The fungus that causes tinea pedis, called dermatophytes, thrive in damp, moist areas. They commonly grow in damp socks or shoes, especially shoes made out of plastic. When the fungus comes into contact with skin, it infects the top layer of skin, causing the top layer of skin to produce more skin cells than normal. This creates tinea pedis and its symptoms.

Treatment

• Over-the-counter (OTC) anti-fungal treatments, such as miconazole, clotrimazole or tolnaftate, helps clear up the infection. Google Health recommends using it for up to two weeks after the infection disappears to ensure the infection does not return.

  If it does not respond to OTC anti-fungal treatments, prescription anti-fungal treatments are used. Doctors typically prescribe ketoconazole or terbinafine. They may also prescribe antibiotics if there are infections on the foot caused by tinea pedis. Doctors can recommend the proper dosage and length of use.

Prevention

• Tinea pedis is prevented by limiting where the tinea pedis fungi can live. Preventative measures include wearing well ventilated shoes made out of leather, wearing sandals at a pool or public showering facility and completely drying both feet after it gets wet, including after swimming or taking a bath.

  Other preventative measures include changing socks often, or once a day or more, to prevent moisture accumulation. Rubbing anti-fungal or drying powder on both feet also helps keep them dry, preventing infection.

Complications

• According to MedicineNet.com, the fungus that causes tinea pedis can spread to other body parts, such as the legs, hands or fingernails. If the fungus breaks open the skin, it can also cause other bacterias and yeasts to infect the skin. This leads to a condition called cellulitis, or an inflammation of skin tissue.