Athletes Foot Prevention

The athletes foot fungus is the same fungus that causes onychomycosis, or toenail fungal infections. In reality, there isn’t just one fungus that can do this, though a couple of species account for most infections. A group of fungi, collectively known as dermatophytes, cause fungal infection of the hair, nails, and skin.

It’s common with fungus that has invaded the toenails to spread to the skin, or for it to spread in the other direction – from the skin to the nails. Odds are, if you have athletes foot fungus and fungal toenails, the same fungus is causing the problem in both places. And since it is affecting the skin, it is almost certainly one of the common types of foot fungus – the dermatophytes. There are some other environmental fungi that occasionally infect the nails, but they do not invade the skin. Here is a picture of toenail fungus.

The good thing about fixing this is that, in many cases, you can use the same treatment and prevention in both athletes foot fungus and nail fungus with the same remedy. In general, the fungus remedies don’t distinguish between the different types of foot fungus, operating on the assumption that what kills one will kill them all.

With some remedies you may need to make adjustments; for example, applying pure Tea tree oil may be okay for nails, but you could have a problem with skin sensitivity if you don’t dilute it with a carrier oil before applying it to your skin. Similarly, if you’re using hydrogen peroxide for foot fungus, spraying on the skin is probably fine, but in penetrating and fixing an infected toenail, you’ll need to soak.

The easiest choices will be treatments that will work for both types of foot fungus – the athletes foot fungus and the nail infection, with one application. There is an athlete foot remedy that works very well as you can see from the picture above and below.

Penetration of the nail by the remedy is always a problem, so choose a soaking method, which will soften the nail, or an oily topical treatment, and plan to spend some time filing down the nail and removing bits that break off so that there is less thickness for the remedy to get through.

The athletes foot fungus will probably clear up much faster than the nail infection because the skin infection is superficial and the treatment easily contacts the fungus there. To get rid of both types of foot fungus, however, you will have to keep up the treatment until the nails look good as well. Nail fungal infections are notorious for the length of time they take to resolve. If your athlete foot fungus is gone and there is any sign of improvement in the nails, the treatment is working and you’re fixing the problem. Keep it up and you will eventually succeed. Here is an athlete foot picture.

Hydrogen peroxide for foot fungus is another one of the common home treatment for fixing athlete foot. It is a common household disinfectant, long used to clean minor cuts and scratches, and even popular for disinfecting cutting boards and kitchen utensils. Intuitively, it makes sense that it might be good for killing fungus. This article discusses the use of hydrogen peroxide as a prevention and cure for fungal infections of the feet, and also describes several alternative home remedies that are used in similar ways.

Hydrogen peroxide for foot fungus may work, although scientific studies have not been done to confirm its usefulness. Use a 3% solution, as the stronger preparations are less safe and may cause skin reactions. Approaches include soaking in the peroxide, wiping onto the affected areas several times daily, or spraying it on and allowing it to dry. It is likely to produce results much faster for athletes foot fungus than for a nail infection. On thing is undeniable: as a foot fungus remedy, it is one of the cheapest.

Ordinary apple cider vinegar is very affordable as well, and is perhaps a more popular treatment than hydrogen peroxide for foot fungus. The approach here is to soak the feet for 20 to 30 minutes every day until the problem clears up. If you have the time for this foot fungus remedy (you could do it while watching the news or reading the paper), this would treat both athletes foot, and fungal nails.

The best athlete foot remedy I have found is an all-natural treatment. With proper prevention and treatment, you can start fixing that athlete foot problem and get rid of athlete foot for good.