Today I want to talk about a disturbing topic – tinea pedis.   OK…..that’s athlete’s foot!  Athlete’s foot is caused by a fungus that infects the skin, especially in moist soft spots – like between our toes and in our groins (where it is called “Jock itch”).  The fungus is contagious and can be spread via contaminated floors, towels, or clothing (especially in communal locker rooms/showers). It is also very persistent once you catch it.

The Mayo Clinic reports that signs and symptoms of athlete's foot include a scaly rash that usually causes itching, stinging, and burning.  It can be treated with creams, sprays, and powders (like Tinactin), that soothe the itching and help reduce the fungus – but it often comes back.

So why am I talking about athlete’s foot on a blog about dry cracked feet? Well, one variety of athlete's foot (called the moccasin variety) causes chronic dryness and scaling on the soles that extends up the side of the foot. It can be mistaken for eczema or dry skin.

For those of us that experience dry, cracked heels already, athlete’s foot fungus is a double whammy!

How can you use our Healaheel Heal Cups™ to deal with this additional complication?  Here’s what I do. I spray the athlete’s foot spray on my feet liberally, before applying the foot cream – then I apply the a href="https://healaheel.com/products/heal-cup">Heal Cups™  and go to bed.  This allows the fungus spray to kill the fungus, while the heel cream moisturizes the dry, cracked skin.

One issue with these fungus treatments is that they contain strong chemicals and you don’t want to get them on your hands, or in your face.  So, here’s a Pro’s Tip from me – after spraying the Tinactin onto my feet, I squeeze the heel cream into the Healaheel Heal Cups™  directly.  This means that I do not touch my heals with my hands or get the fungus spray on my hands.  Ah but, you say, do you not need to rub the heel cream into the heal? Yes, that is true, but here is the genius of the a href="https://healaheel.com/products/heal-cup">Heal Cups™ . Once you put them on over your heals, in a nice snug fit, they actually massage and rub the cream into your heals for you – as you turn over in bed, or sit watching TV and moving your feet.  So, no need to touch the fungus spray with your hands. Perfect!