Tinea

‘Tinea’ is a word that means fungal infection. Tinea can affect any part of the body, but is particularly common in the foot as the fungus love the dark moist environment that they have inside shoes. They thrive in that environment. The tinea can affect the nails, where it is technically known as onychomycosis. If it affects the skin it is usually called tinea pedis or athletes foot.

There are several common locations for tinea of the skin. The two most common are between the toes (where it appears as a white macerated area) or in the arch area (where is appears a multiple small blisters, that may weep).

Generally, tinea is easy to treat. You just need to remove from foot from the damp moist environment of the shoe as much as possible and use an anti-fungal cream which is applied regularly. This can often work in a matter of days. However, while it is generally easy t treat, what is much more difficult is to stop it happening again, especially if the foot is placed back into the environment of the shoe that caused it in the first place. The long term management is to used preventative measures such as powders; wear open shoe to allow the air to circulate; and use good foot hygiene techniques.