A friend of mine was complaining to me a few days ago that he had a really bad case of athlete’s foot and that the over the counter spray stuff just wasn’t working. I remember over the years it happening to me a few times and I started thinking I wish I had some home remedies I could give him. Unfortunately I didn’t so I thought this would be a great subject for my tip column this week! After doing a bit of research and talking to my own doctor, I was amazed at all the methods and home concoctions one can do to get rid of this nuisance. Apparently this problem is more common than I thought!
First off, here are some tips to avoid even getting it in the first place.
·Wear sandals in the gym locker room.
Fungi love those steamy, wet floors! They’re just waiting for feet like yours to latch on to.
· Change your socks often.
While it may seem obvious…change into a clean pair! Laundry is a pain, but it’s not so bad that a few extra socks from frequent changing will slow you down.
· Wash your feet.
No, the soapy water from washing your hair that rinses by your feet does not do the trick! A good scrub between the toes will clean away many of the pests that cause athlete’s foot.
· Keep your feet dry.
A little talc powder will help even the sweatiest of feet. Fungi hate dry places, make your feet inhospitable to the athlete’s foot critters.
Now, for the cure if you get it! Over the counter treatments do work. Ask the pharmacist or your doctor for the right medication, and then apply as directed. Unfortunately, these athlete’s foot treatments require frequent applications which are the hardest part. Besides the over the counter sprays, my own doctor recommends zinc oxide. He said it can often be effective if you have a bad case the spray isn’t curing.
Now, if you want to try a home remedy, here are a bunch I found on-line. Some may seem odd but apparently they work!
-Topical oils like tea tree oil can be used to relieve some of the itching. Some people claim it can cure it but that has yet to be proven.
-Ajoene, a compound found in garlic, is sometimes used to treat athlete’s foot.
-Boric Acid application in the socks is used to prevent athlete’s foot when recurrent infections occurs, but is not used to treat.
-Rubbing feet with baking soda paste or sprinkling baking soda in shoes can help in changing the ph on your feet.
-Some podiatrists recommend soaking the feet in a solution of Epsom salts in warm water.
-Soak the affected (and surrounding) areas in antiseptic mouthwash such as Listerine. Use the original kind (the mediciny one). Immediately relieves the itching and burning symptoms. You can also apply it to a sterile cotton pad and just rub on your feet twice daily. No need to rinse (this is great for children).
-Create a solution of one part vinegar and four parts warm water. Soak the feet for half an hour twice daily.
-Soak your feet in a basin in an over the counter Hydrogen Peroxide (the brown bottle). Soak for 20-30 minutes. Save the same solution to repeat the following day.
-In a large bowl (big enough for feet) fill it part way with hot water and add…
1 cup of vinegar , 1/4 cup of Epson salt , 3 table spoons of Boric Acid. Whisk up the mixture and soak feet for at least 15 minutes – then dry thoroughly. Dusting with cornstarch afterward is great for keeping the feet dry. Fungus should start leaving your feet in about a week.
Now I also found some people out there that just could not get relief and this is what they posted or blogged about on how they got rid of there’s. I don’t think these things would be necessarily recommended by a doctor, but hey, if you’ve tried everything else, they’re worth a try!
-Put Vagisil (women’s yeast infection) cream on your athlete’s foot. It will supposedly sooth the pain –and within a few days may be gone.
-Yes I found this on multiple sites… urinate on your feet! Where the affected areas are, let it soak there for a minute or two then rinse off with warm water. It does not have to be your own urine. It’s easiest done in the shower or ‘peeing’ in a cup. You will feel results after once or twice and see results in a week or so.
-One gentleman started soaking his foot in ocean water twice a day and put mentholatum ointment/rub on it overnight and saw results immediately. The entire problem was cleared up in just 5 days!
-One guy was going so nuts from the itching and couldn’t get to the store so he sprayed the old fashioned Lysol on his feet (it’s all he had in the cupboard!) It burned tremendously, but the fungus was completely gone the next morning!
-Tilex bathroom cleaner? Yes, one man says he sprays it on his feet, waits 3 minutes then rinses with cool water. He says if you do this twice a week for 2 weeks it will disappear and it works for him every time.
-One gal found that nail polish remover works to stop the itching and the burning as well as gets rid of the redness. She swears it clears her athlete’s foot within 1-3 days all the time.
-One lady recommends Scent Eraser Hair and Body Wash. It’s used to eliminate odors for hunters but it cured her athlete’s foot.
- Soak your feet in warm water and file them off to get as much hard skin off as you can. Cover your feet with a thin layer of oregano oil. Supposedly it smells bad but your athlete’s foot will be cured in 3 or 4 days.
- One man had it for 2 years and nothing that any doctor had prescribed even worked. The only thing that finally gave him relief was Dr. Bonners Peppermint Soap and can be found at GNC and other health food stores.
- One man was going crazy from the itching until he discovered Soft Scrub with Bleach by accident while he was scrubbing his tub. He scrubbed his feet in it once a day and within two days it started clearing up. It was completely gone in a week.
-One lady says she soaks her feet in warm water and a cap full of Clorox at night. She then dries her feet well and applies the over the counter medicated powder.
- Supposedly good old Dawn Dishwashing Liquid works best (the original kind). You can also use it to treat all of your shoes as well.
Co-Founder/CEO of HappyHourMom.com, Freelancer, Internet Marketing Consultant, and Social Media lover. Wife to an amazing husband, mom to two beautiful little girls, and follower of Jesus Christ. I am a Happy Hour Mom…are you?
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Ah… I bathe and change my socks quite often, but “even being hygienic”, I still have athlete’s foot, though those are good ideas for people who aren’t…