I’m physically active adult, and have never had Athlete’s foot until this summer. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know what the heck was happening to my feet until my brother saw it and recognized it.
It all started when I bought a new pair of Running Shoes in the beginning of summer. The blisters appeared immediately. I figured I was just breaking in the shoes, so I didn’t think much of it. The blisters continued, so I decided to stop wearing them for a while. Blisters went away.
Fast forward another couple of weeks. My feet are ok. I put on the Running Shoes. Blisters reappear. This time I was stubborn, and kept wearing them anyways. That’s when my brother recognized my symptoms as being athlete’s foot. Started using medication, and feet are getting better as we speak. I haven’t worn the Running Shoes since.
Seems pretty clear to me that whenever I wear the Running Shoes, the fungi come back. I don’t know whether there are spores in the shoes, or whether it’s the fungi already on my feet growing uncontrollably when put in the right environment.
Should I throw away the hardly-worn pair of Running Shoes?
Athletes’ foot is a part of life for those of us who exercise regularly, particularly if using communal showers at the change rooms. I’m assuming here that you’re actually using the shoes for exercise.
FWIW I’ve found that some shoes are more likely to encourage tinea than others. The worst culprits are all synthetic shoes that don’t have much ventilation. You can cut down on your tinea by doing the following:
regularly washing the shoes in the washing machine (if they’re the type of shoes that can be handled that way)
sprinkling the shoes and your feet with tinea powder before and/or after exercising
ensuring your feet are really, really dry before you put your shoes back on after your post-exercise shower
I’ve also heard- but never wanted to test the hypothesis- that pissing on your feet during the post exercise shower will cut down tinea.
I’m also assuming that what you have is actually tinea. When you say blisters, do you mean peeling skin between and under the toes? If so then it probably is tinea (particularly if it’s itchy). If it’s blisters on any other part of the foot then it probably isn’t tinea.
I have found spraying shoes with a mist of solution of bleach and putting them in a plastic bag for a couple of hours works quite well to disinfect them. I even have soaked my feet for about 10 mins in a warm (and weak) solution of bleach. Bleach works wonders in getting rid of fungus, mold and unwanted guests.