Pee on your computer! It’s free… and it works. 
I thought the OTC stuff like Tinactin was good enough it rendered Athletes foot a non-problem. Are there varieties of this stuff that shrug off the OTC medicine?
Do you go barefoot in the locker rooms and the showers? Because that’s how I picked it up. Get a pair of flip-flops.
Just be glad you didn’t pick up plantars warts. Oh GOD, not only do those things hurt, but they’re uglier than all get out.
Yeah, I considered that, but I’m pretty much doomed any way I go about it–If I don’t get the scruffies in the shower, I’ll get it from the poolside or from the “communal” fins. I can’t hose everything down with spray so I’m basically fighting it by just hosing my feet down with spray when I get home after class and then going barefoot as much as possible at home.
Oh, and peeing on myself in the shower. Yep, one big old piss party in the slortarium.
<SLAPS Astroboy14 with pee-soaked Wet Trout>
dumps a bucket of urine over Bosda’s head, like a winning football team dowsing their coach with Gatorade, only gross and smelly
<calmly>You stay out of this, nobody was talking to you.</calmly>
<STUFFS LIVE TREE SQUIRRELS DOWN slortar’s KNICKERS>
OK, it’s 2:14AM, the damn fungus is really really faded, hadrd to see even…
AND IT ITCHES!! MAKE IT STOP! I only scratched it just the littlest bit, I promise. Then I ran and got the foot powder and put on some socks. LEt’s if DR Ssholls and the other foot goss are looking on me fondly today.
Godamn does it itch. Man, and it comes and goes, wave-like. It’s very much not fun.
Okay, I’ve suffered through athletes foot, ringworm, eczyma, a really painful plantars wart, and falling arches in the past five years. I have cursed feet. In fact, I got athletes foot in high school and when we went down to Southern California for an ROTC trip, my feet hurt so bad I couldn’t walk to participate in any of the events. Damned humidity.
But this is what I do. It’s become a ritual.
Every day when I shower I wash my feet, with just normal old soap. I use a scratchy sponge of some sort, like a loofah, to slough off dead cells and such. I dry my feet off really well and go barefoot for at least ten minutes. I apply a very thin layer of lamisil to my feet, and put them in my socks - but before I put them in my socks, I put something similar to tinactin in the socks (I get a big yellow bottle of “medicated foot powder” at Wal-Mart for about two dollars every two weeks, and it really works to cut down on moisture). I also put the tinactin in my shoes. I then tie them up and go about my day.
When I’m ready to take my shoes off at night, I wash my feet off, and apply another thin layer of lamisil once I’m done.
For itching, I keep a tube of yeast infection cream around. It sound gross, but if there’s anything worse than an itchy infection on your feet, it’s one in your crotch, and the people that make vagisil type stuff know how to make shit stop itching. If it gets unbearable or starts getting in the way of my day (or sleep), I apply a little bit of that stuff (and it is expensive, so I do tend to go with the off-brand; it works just as well) and poof, itching’s gone, for at least an hour. It’s totally worth it.
I actually got rid of my athletes foot about two years ago, but my boyfriend has it and we have the same kinds of socks…so I do this mostly as a preventative measure. Occasionally I’ll get another outbreak, but it’s mild because I keep this up. And the annoyance of an added ritual is worth the lessened itchyness.
Also, keep your toenails groomed and cleaned out. Fungus likes places like toenails to hide. But for God’s sake, don’t cut the nails too low, or any fungus that’s hiding out’ll have a nice warm NEW place to hide, complete with blood vessels, and you’ll have a hell of a time getting rid of that infection. (I know from experience)
~Tasha
I’m bumping this thread because it happenend again. The fungus was almost gone, drying up, fading to a light pink.
And the itch got me. Again.
I’ve never had a rash that itched so damn intensely! It’s impossible to fight. One issue, I’ve devided, is the leather shoes I wear at work. I am now sitting with my shoes off, thank you very much. The rash is now fiery red and weeping, there’s little spots on my socks. It’s gross, I’ll upload and link to pictures tonight. I just got back with some Benadryl cream that the pharmacist said might help control the itch. We’ll see.
Damn I hate this stuff.
I’ve had AF on and off all of my adult life. I once went to see a doctor for it. She wanted to get some samples and so started digging at my soles with a scalpel. Each time she made an incision, she apologized for hurting me. My reaction was “Don’t stop! Ooh yeah, that’s the sweet spot! Try to go all over the whole foot. Yeah, baby! Dig in a little harder!”
Nothing scratches that itch like razor-sharp surgical steel.
One other thing – when you’re not experiencing an outbreak, are your feet dry and cracked with little bits of dead skin hanging off? That’s what mine are like. Try Kerasel foot ointment, and use it as directed. My pet theory is if you smooth out the topography of your foot, the little fun-guys will have fewer places to nest.
And look like a dork – where white socks.
I very rarely get athlete’s foot or plantar warts (but never at the same time). But when I do, my home remedy is sunshine. Unfiltered (no glass), midday sunlight directly on the affected skin for about 10-30 minutes a day for a week or so seems to clear things up well. I figure it’s a combination of drying out the skin, the UV light, and a little sunburn to stimulate the immune response.
I got eczema a lot when I was younger and occasionally now, but this is the first time I ever remember having athlete’s foot (I know they aren’t connected, they’re just both itchy rashes). And I will never forget it. It’s better when I can go barefoot, but I can’t do that at work. I’ll see how it goes over the weekend and if it doesn’t improve I’m calling the doctor.
After a decade of fighting itchy, peeling feet (stupid waitress job) my doctor finally prescribed Penlac. Bliss! It fixed up my weird-looking toenails, but I also started painting a little bit on the splitting, weepy skin. The burn was soooooooo good, I wept. It was better than the metal-tipped hairbrush I used to use for relieving the itch. And it cleared up within days! The only problem is the cost . . . Penlac is very expensive and not all insurance likes to pay for it.
Keep up with whatever your Dr ordered.
Wash your feet with rubbing alcohol before and after showering, then apply your 'script. Use foot powder, also in your shoes.
Toss your old shower mat. Sterilize your shower.
Toss any old smelly shoes. Rotate your shoes daily, and let them air out. Get socks made of Coolmax, or with X-Static (little silver threads), or both.
Take plenty of Probiotics.
Go for a nice barefoot walk on the beach in full sun.
Its not cureable for some cases? I see a couple posters say they’ve had it for years… I did some googling and I see there are two kinds… “moccasin” is tough to cure, it says. Impossible, though? If I had it for a few years I’d think of frequent doctors visits until I was SURE something was being done to STOP it for good.
In some cases it can’t be cured?