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Advice for treating athletes foot

Thinktank

Senior Member
Messages
1,640
Location
Europe
I've developed something called athletes foot which is basicly a fungal infection on one of my toes.
The cause to this is probably the IV ceftriaxone i'm currently on.

Does anyone know of a good remedy to combat athletes foot? I'm not keen of diflucan or other harsh conventional anti-fungals.
 

Martial

Senior Member
Messages
1,409
Location
Ventura, CA
I've developed something called athletes foot which is basicly a fungal infection on one of my toes.
The cause to this is probably the IV ceftriaxone i'm currently on.

Does anyone know of a good remedy to combat athletes foot? I'm not keen of diflucan or other harsh conventional anti-fungals.

Creams are more practical for something like that. I would ask if you do take natural anti fungals for now, however still being on antibiotics it is hard to avoid fungal issues completely.
 

IreneF

Senior Member
Messages
1,552
Location
San Francisco
Walk barefoot. When you wear shoes, wear 100% wool socks or a blend with a high percentage of wool. Keep your toes clean. Use an anti-fungal cream regularly.

I've read that soaking your feet in vinegar helps, but I've never tried it.
 

Thinktank

Senior Member
Messages
1,640
Location
Europe
@Martial, my LLMD wants me to take some supplements which have antifungal properties but unfortunately it creates a bad reaction or GI discomfort so i have to build up slowly. Stuff on the list are berberine, lactoferrin+colostrum, VSL #3 and some cowden herbs samentobanderol/cumanda/houttuynia which have antifungal properties as well.

My fear is that this yeast or any bacteria that are related to it might go systemic.

@taniaaust1, that's a bit too hardcore natural for me :) I might try the tea tree oil.

@IreneF, i've been walking barefoot the last few days but i fear i might infect others by doing so.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
If you are willing to try something natural, use oregano essential oil, diluted 1-10 with olive oil or apricot oil or almond oil. Applying a drop or two daily works great. And do keep your shower floor scrubbed up. Just don't slip! Use a few drops of oil on it, let it sit for a while, then clean it off so it is not slippery.
 

Jonathan Edwards

"Gibberish"
Messages
5,256
I think the solution depends on what fungus it is and where. Athlete's foot, or tinea pedis (just Latin for fungus of the foot) just refers to any fungus on foot skin. Traditional athlete's foot produces a painful crack in the skin between the toes. The only thing you really need to do for that is to keep the foot very dry by walking barefoot (these fungi are everywhere so I would not worry about infecting others), cleaning the cracks between toes gently but firmly once or twice a day and then getting them really dry. Barefoot allows the air in by avoiding the toes being pressed together by shoes or socks. Anti-fungal ointments may help but I think they just stop the skin drying out. So if the problem is a painful crack between toes then it should resolve simply - although it can take a week.

On the other hand, fungal infection of foot skin can form patches actually on the toes or affect the nail, which gets thick. If that is the case it would be useful to have skin scrapings sent to a path lab to see what the fungus is. Your doctor can then decide if there is a local ointment that would work or whether you would need to take something by mouth. It is not very often that oral drugs (like diflucan) are needed but if you are on IV antibiotics then it is possible. For patches on exposed areas keeping things dry may not make much difference.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
I use this after I shower to keep from developing fungal infections where there is constant skin-to-skin contact:

Tinactin Super Absorbent Antifungal Powder

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EPQ5MM

The active ingredient is 1% tolnaftate. It won't do anything for an infection that is in the toenail itself.

There are things you can take by mouth, like griseofulvin, that will work for fungal toenail infections. It is available by prescription only: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682295.html