Wearing shoes for hours can make your feet sweaty causing irritation. Well, do not underestimate sweat as everything has its own merits and demerits. Athlete’s foot is a very known term among the athletes and sportsmen who spend most of their life wearing shoes. This health condition is also known as tinea pedis. It is a kind of a fungal infection that begins between the toes. If not taken care of in time, it has the tendency to spread to your toenails and hands.

Symptoms of athlete’s foot
A few symptoms which can help you identify if you are suffering from athlete’s foot are:

• Itching and stinging between toes
• Irritation between toes while waking
• Severe itching which further results in red patches and scaly skin
• Dry skin or raw skin which might seem like the starting stage of psoriasis or eczema
• Severe itching while you are sleeping or when you take shoes off

What are the causes of athlete’s foot?
Usually, this infection is caused due to excessive growth of the same fungus that causes ringworm. Some of the causes of athlete’s foot are:

• Excessive sweat – Excessive sweat occurs when you wear shoes for hours which results in sweat formation, humidity, and invites dirt. Wearing damped shocks and shoes also make space for the fungi to grow.
• Direct exposure – Places such as public washrooms and restrooms are prone to bacteria and other viral infection. Direct exposure to these places can infect your foot. Also, direct exposure to an infected person becomes a cause for the same.

Risk factors associated with athlete’s foot
Anybody can have a fungal infection but the factors that increase or trigger the risk of suffering from athlete’s foot are:

• Walking barefoot in unclean or public places
• Wearing tight-fitted shoes
• Minor injuries or bruises
• Sharing shoes or towels of an infected person

Complications associated with athlete’s foot
Be it any health issues if not treated in time it grows to result in further complications. If athlete’s foot is not treated in time, its complications can spread to different parts of the body. Some of the complications associated with athlete’s foot are:

• When you use your fingers for itching or rubbing the infected area without taking sanitary measures, it is likely to infect your hands too.
• When you don’t treat your infection or carelessly ignore it, it tends to infect your toenails too.
• When you use the same towel for the infected area and other parts of the body the infection may spread in other humid areas such as groin and armpits.

Measures to control athlete’s foot
Some measures that you can take to avoid suffering from athlete’s foot are:

• First and foremost, don’t share your or anybody else’s shoes and keep your feet dry and clean.
• Treat your feet with antifungal powder daily and avoid damped and unwashed shocks.
• Don’t use the same shoe regularly and wear light ventilated shoes.
• When at home, try giving more air to your feet and keep away from dirt and bacteria prone places.