Athletes foot?

[OhioSKy]

Anyone know of any oils or butters or something like that that will help with athletes foot/extreme eczema? DH's toes always look like theyre about to fall off, and I usually use Aquafor on them but Im wondering if something else may help more.
He keeps making fun of me for using all these natural products (which got worse when I finally conviced him to put TTO on his cold sore and it didnt help!) but maaaayyybee if I can fix his toes he will leave me alone already! lol

[kimberlily]

Distilled vinegar. My DH has had horrible athelete's foot for eons, and daily treatment with plain distilled white vinegar sent it packing (unlike the nasty prescription pills his doc gave him - those things are brutal on your liver too). The vinegar kills the fungus. If you're moisturizing his feet, you're just encouraging a nice moist environment for the fungus to grow, unfortunately.

[OhioSKy]

hmm... Im not sure how much of it is actually athletes foot (no doctor has ever told him that) and how much of it is his eczema. How can you tell the difference, since moisture would be bad for athletes foot but good for eczema I dont want to do the wrong thing! lol

[kimberlily]

Here's a pic that looks almost exactly like my DH's feet before we started treating them with vinegar...


Athelete's foot (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.visualdxhealth.com/images/dx/webTeen/tineaPedisAthletesFoot_47245_lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.visualdxhealth.com/teen/tineaPedisAthletesFoot.htm&h=240&w=319&sz=11&hl=en&start=19&um=1&tbnid=BXBhGJ_3Twq1lM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dathlete%2527s%2Bfoot%26um%3D1%26hl%3D en%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DZPo%26sa%3DN)

[Anje]

Ewww, that's a nasty pic, Kimberlilly! I have a chronic but very mild case of athlete's foot, where the toes touch so moisture doesn't dry up. Just looks like a bit of peeling skin, mostly, without inflammation. But I'll second the plain white vinegar. It keeps even the peely skin at bay.

Also important is to dry the feet thoroughly after showering, especially between the toes. Change socks a few times per day (go get a big pack of cheap white athletic socks!), and consider changing shoes several times, too. Sandels are great if you have the weather and employment to wear them. If it's athlete's foot, you need the feet to be dry, not sweaty.

ETA: Athlete's foot will look and feel moist. Eczema (from what I've heard) is dry, I think.

[kimberlily]

Anje, you didn't have to click on the link ;)

Athlete's foot generally will look and feel moist, yes, but the edges of the peely skin can harden and become dry, so it can be hard to tell the difference.

[OhioSKy]

Hmm his doesnt really look like that, though he does have that ridge on his little toe. I will do some more research, as this may not be what he actually has.
Thanks everyone for your replies! :grinhappy:

[kimberlily]

Some cases of athlete's foot aren't red and weepy like that. It depends on the cause. Some are caused by fungus, others by yeast. I think that makes a difference in how it looks, but both can be treated with vinegar :)

[OhioSKy]

Hmm... what he has actually sounds more like this (http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/erythrasma.htm), but in either case, I think vinegar should help.
Thanks, Kimberlily and Anje!

[ChloeDharma]

Yeah i hear vinegar is good for these things. Also if there's excema Evening Primrose Oil is good. It might be worth trying some neem and/or coconut oil on it too.

[OhioSKy]

Ooohh I have lots of coconut oil... thanks!

[slcnewlife64]

I got rid of a stubborn athletes foot with tea tree oil. My doctor put me on vinegar and I hated it! doing some research on the internet I found tea tree oil was great for it so I tried putting some with a qtip twice a day. Now that horrid and painful athlete foot is completely gone for good.