Athlete’s Foot is a cutaneous fungal infection caused by dermatophyte infection, and characterised by itching, flaking and fissuring of the foot skin.

 

It takes three principal forms, of which interdigital Athlete’s Foot is the most common:

 

At the onset of interdigital Athlete’s Foot, the infection is very discreet with a mild erythema and scaling often in the fourth interdigital space of the foot. Sometimes, the patient can feel some itching but most often the disease is not discovered at this stage. As the infection progresses, the skin grows soft and the infected area becomes inflamed and sensitive to the touch. Gradually, the edges of the infected area become milky white and the skin begins to peel and flake.

 

After several weeks, the disease may extend to the other interdigital spaces and/or the sole with several signs and symptoms. The patient may complain of itching or burning and stinging. The lesions may appear as red areas with fine white scales (caused by increased epidermal turnover in response to the inflammation). The disease can then spread to the toenails, groin or palms.

 

The ‘mocassin’ type, with scaly, thickened skin on the sole and heel of the foot, is less common and normally requires an oral antifungal treatment because of the thickness of the infected skin.

 

The ‘vesiculo-bullar’ type is characterised by blisters on the instep, heel, sole and top of the foot. It can usually be treated with an antifungal cream like Lamisil^®AT. However, if there is also a bacterial infection, an oral antibiotic may also be considered.

 

This website principally focuses on the interdigital type of Athlete’s Foot.