Dermatologist warns against sharing of shoes to prevent infections According to him, when you put your feet in shoes for a long time, the damp nature or moisture is what stimulates the growth of the fungus that causes athletes foot Share: Dr. Olanrewaju Falodun, a dermatologist with the National Hospital, Abuja, has warned people against sharing of shoes to prevent infections such as athlete’s foot. Falodun, who gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, said that athlete’s foot, also called ring worm of the foot, was a fungi infection that affected the foot. He said that the infection could affect one or both feet, the toes, the soles and upper surface of the foot, adding that the foot became scaly, looked thicker and discharged water. According to him, when you put your feet in shoes for a long time, the damp nature or moisture is what stimulates the growth of the fungus that causes athletes foot. Falodun said that people who had the habit of sharing shoes, especially people who worked in factories and medical theaters, were at greater risk of getting infected. He said: “It is called athlete’s foot because I think it was first seen in some set of athletes. “When you put your feet in shoes for a long time, that damp nature, the moisture is actually something that stimulates the growth of the fungus that causes athletes foot. “So, athlete’s foot is ring worm of the foot. “What are the things that cause athletes foot? “People that share shoes. “Plastic shoes are said to even be at a greater risk for some reason. “That is to say that people that work in factories where you have to remove your own personal shoes and wear some factory shoe. “People that work in medical theatres, people who do not have personalised boots or maybe sports people that share soccer boots and you have direct contact of your skin with the shoes itself. “Don’t share socks, don’t share shoes as much as you can, and even if you must wear a shoe like a theater shoe or factory shoe, make sure you have your own socks that can protect and after you have done that, you should wash your socks and dry it very well.” Falodun said that direct contact with shoes of an infected person, damp socks and tight shoes also increased the risk of being infected. “’When shoes are tight, you sweat a lot in between the toes and they becomes moist,” he said. Falodun said that sharing the same rugs, towels and bathtub with an infected person also increased the chances of getting infected. The dermatologist, however, noted that not every scaly and itchy rash on the feet was an athlete’s foot, saying that it could be an allergy or dermatitis. “Some people react to their shoes but that is what a dermatologist will sort out by doing investigations to determine what exactly it is,” he said. Falodun said that other people at risk of contacting athlete’s foot were diabetic patients and people who walked bare-footed. He said that athlete’s foot was hard to treat, hence the need to go to the hospital immediately the symptoms were noticed. He said: “Prognosis is good if treated early. “Actually, it is quite difficult to treat I must tell you. “It depends on how bad it is. “If it involves the nails, then it is much more difficult to handle. “You may not be able to treat it alone with creams. “If it doesn’t involve the nails and you present it early enough, you might not need to use tablets, but once it involves the nails, you have to use tablet for it. “Any fungi infection that involves the nails cannot be treated with creams alone.” Source; Eagle online EKSU SU PRESS
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 06:30:01 +0000
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