Types of Foot Fungus, Part 1

AllCare Foot & Ankle Center is Dallas’s podiatrist of choice, providing advanced treatment of any and all foot ailments at our state-of-the-art Arlington and Dallas Proper medical centers. We’re passionate about helping you with your foot ailments, and giving you the best advice and resources to have happy and healthy feet for years to come.

One of the most common—and most preventable—foot ailments is a fungal infection, which can come in many different varieties and levels of severity.In this blog, we’ll discuss the signs and symptoms of some of the most common fungal foot infections, and provide with the best solutions for ridding your feet of these fungi.

Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s foot, also known as ringworm of the foot, is a topical foot infection that affects the skin of the foot. It’s the most common fungal disease in humans, and can be passed down from human to human through direct contact with an infected foot area or through contaminated objects like towels or mats, (or most infamously, the locker room floor).  

Athlete’s foot can be contracted by people of all ages, races, and sexes, but is more common in males than females. Conditions that increase the risk of athlete’s foot include using public pools, showers, and locker rooms, wearing constricting footwear, living in humid climates, and having sweaty feet.

Signs of athlete’s foot include redness, discoloration, and itchiness, which can occur on any area of the foot. In more serious cases, painful blisters and pus pockets can develop, usually developing between the toes.

To defeat athlete’s foot, you’ll need a simple antifungal cream that can be picked up at the supermarket. But for more extreme cases, you’ll need to see your local podiatrist for more thorough and effective treatment.

Plantar Warts

Plantar warts often look like large callouses, but are actually a type of warts spread by a few of many forms of human papillomavirus (HPV). While plantar warts can appear on the mouth or hands, they often form on the sole of the foot. As a relatively benign growth or hardening on the outer layer of the skin of the foot, plantar warts are usually painless (although giant plantar warts can cause overall foot discomfort and pain), and cure themselves over the course of a few months. However, many plantar warts can take as long as two years to heal.

Because plantar warts are a fungal infection, they don’t always go away with topical treatment. But for some reason, covering your plantar wart with duct tape daily has proven to be one of the most effective ways to treat plantar warts.

We’ll continue with part 2 of this blog soon, giving you more knowledge and advice on fungal foot infections. Until then, catch up on our other foot care posts!