This leaflet covers advice for effective treatment and prevention for athlete’s foot and fungal nail infections.
Signs and symptoms of athlete’s foot (tinea pedis)
Between the toes, cracked skin, usually white and soggy, rubbery texture, red raw beneath and can bleed. Also intensely itchy and sore.
The top or sole of the foot tends to be dry and flaky, often with tiny blisters or vesicles, either pus filled or blood filled. It can also be very itchy and sore.
Signs and symptoms of fungal toenails
- May affect one or several nails.
- Yellow or brown discolouration of nail.
- May grow thickened and distorted.
- Can be brittle and crumbly with smelly debris beneath the nail.
Causes
Both are caused by a fungal infection. A common example of a fungus is a mushroom or a toadstool. Do not worry, they do not grow on your feet!
People who attend communal showers or changing rooms, such as swimming baths, are more likely to contract the infection.
It is more common with increasing age, due to an inability to reach your own feet, keeping good foot hygiene and lowered immunity against infections.
With age you may also develop health conditions that increase the potential for infections to develop.
Treatment of athlete’s foot
The fungus likes an environment which is moist, dark and warm, so the foot is a perfect home. Therefore, regular washing of feet, careful drying between the toes, changing socks or tights daily and alternating footwear will help to prevent you contracting the infection.
Allow air to circulate around your feet. Slippers are not recommended as they encourage perspiration due to man-made materials.
If the area is not raw, surgical spirits or witch hazel can be applied to help reduce moisture between the toes.
One or two crystals of potassium permanganate in a bowl of warm water (turning the water a very pale lilac) will help to reduce perspiration of the feet. Beware, overuse can turn the skin brown.
You can buy various creams and sprays which can be applied directly to the area affected like Lamisil, Daktarin, Canesten or Mycota, from the pharmacist, or on prescription from your GP.
Use these as per instructions and then once or twice a week, after the symptoms subside, as the infection can still be present and reoccur after the treatment has stopped. Lamisil Once is available from GP or pharmacist and can last up to three months.
If you have a chronic infection (never goes away, or returns periodically), the doctor may prescribe a tablet, dependent on your health like Lamisil, Sporonox pulse.
Treatment of fungal nails
Nail lacquers
If one or two nails are affected, a lacquer such as Trosyl or Loceryl may be prescribed by the GP.
In order of success rate:
Loceryl (amorolfine 5%)
Apply once a week, reviewing every three months to see if the infection has cleared.
Trosyl (tioconazole 28%)
Apply every 12 hours, for six to 12 months. If the nails are very thick, it is recommended that you see a podiatrist to have them reduced so that the paint can penetrate the nail more easily.
In between visits, you can use a nail file once or twice a week, across the top of the nail to keep the thickness down.
Urea treatment can be considered to remove affected nail prior to lacquer therapy.
Oral therapy
If several nails are affected, a tablet may be prescribed by your GP, depending on your general health. A liver function test may be necessary before treatment.
In order of success rate:
Lamisil (terbinafine hydrochloride 250mg)
Take one tablet a day for 3 to 6 months. New healthy nail should begin to grow from the nail fold.
The old fungal nail can take up to a year to grow out fully.
Sporonox Pulse (itraconazole 100mg)
Take two tablets twice a day for seven days, then nothing for three weeks. Repeat twice more.
Combination therapy
Use of a nail lacquer in conjunction with oral therapy when multiple nails are chronically infected (for example, the whole of the nail is totally affected). Please note, these treatments are very costly and do not guarantee success.
Living with the problem
Occasionally these treatments may fail, which leaves the option of living with the problem, or nail surgery to remove the nail and the application of a chemical (phenol) so that the nail does not grow again.
This is a radical solution and is only used if the nail is painful and conservative self care fails to relieve the problem, and depends on whether the patient’s health is satisfactory.
Topical antifungal cream such as Lamisil should be applied to the healed nail bed and new nail as it grows.
Sometimes you can develop a secondary bacterial infection.
If you notice your skin is inflamed around the nail (you may notice a small discharge of fluid) see a podiatrist or GP for advice.
Remember, you can become re-infected with a fungal infection at any time.
It is therefore important to carry out preventative measures, such as regular change of hosiery, alternation of footwear, allowing circulation of air to feet where possible and use of antifungal powders, sprays, gels or creams.
Contact podiatry foot protection
Document control
- Document reference: DP2814/07.17.
- Date reviewed: April 2017.
Page last reviewed: November 19, 2024
Next review due: November 19, 2025
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