Athletes Foot

According the NHS UK website NHS UK Athletes Foot "Athlete's foot is a common fungal infection that affects the feet. You can usually treat it with creams, sprays or powders from a pharmacy, but it can keep coming back".

One of the main symptoms of Athlete's foot is itchy white patches between your toes. It can also cause sore and flaky patches on your feet. The skin can look red, crack and even bleed but this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin. Athlete's foot can also affect your soles or sides of your feet. It sometimes causes fluid-filled blisters. If it's not treated, the infection can spread to your toenails and cause a fungal nail infection.

Patients should be reminded to:

• Dry feet after washing them, particularly between your toes – dab them dry rather than rubbing them
• Use a separate towel for your feet and wash it regularly
• Take shoes off when at home
• Wear clean socks every day – cotton socks are best
• Not scratch affected skin – this can spread it to other parts of the body
• Not walk around barefoot – wear flip-flops in places like changing rooms and showers
• Not share towels, socks or shoes with other people
• Not wear the same pair of shoes for more than 2 days in a row
• Not wear shoes that make their feet hot and sweaty

Athlete's foot is unlikely to get better on its own, but your patients / customers can buy antifungal medicines for it from a pharmacy. They usually take a few weeks to work.

Athlete's foot treatments are available as:

• creams
• sprays
• powders