Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was co-authored by Kaveri Karhade, MD. Dr. Kaveri Karhade is a board certified Laser, Medical, and Cosmetic Dermatologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her areas of expertise are acne and hair loss. She has advanced training in injectables, lasers, surgery, and other cosmetic treatments, and has published extensive research in medical journals. She holds a BS from Michigan State University and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed her internship in Internal Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and her Residency in Dermatology at Brown University School of Medicine. Dr. Karhade is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
This article has been viewed 57,479 times.
Athlete’s foot is the most common form of fungal infection that causes redness and itchiness on the skin between the toes. The rule of thumb is to keep your feet clean, although it is not always possible to prevent an occurrence of fungal infection such as athlete’s foot. In that case, you should employ foot bath procedure with certain variations to treat an athlete’s foot.
Steps
Kill the bacteria with hydrogen peroxide. The idea is to kill bacteria and fungus lying on your feet, and using hydrogen peroxide is ideal for killing harmful bacteria and fungus.[1]
Take 1 gallon (3.8 L) of lukewarm water and add just 2 to 3 percent hydrogen peroxide in it.Advertisement
Dry your feet well. Remember to dry your feet with the help of clean towel or air dry it.[4]
Give yourself a tea tree oil foot bath. Tea tree oil is essential antiseptic oil that helps immensely in cleaning fungus from the infected area. Many dermatologists reckon adding 30 to 40 drops of tea tree oil into the foot bath warm water.
Soak your feet in the water for at least 10 to 15 minutes daily. This will show remarkable results.- Tea tree oil has natural properties that will literally destroy fungus on your feet.[5]
Prepare a mustard oil or powder foot bath. Either you can add few drops of mustard oil in the foot bath water or you can sprinkle some mustard powder in the water. By doing either of it, you are using mustard to kill the fungus.[6]
Soak your feet in the same water for at least 20 minutes daily.
Prepare a salt water foot bath. For a nice warm foot bath, add 2 to 3 tbsp of salt to 300 to 500ml bucket of warm water.[7]
Soak your feet in for up to 5 to 10 minutes. Follow this habit at regular intervals till you don’t see the much anticipated results.
Combine with essential oils for best results.
Prepare an oregano leaves foot bath. Some athlete foot sufferers have made a tea of 3 to 4 ounces of oregano leaves and added it to warm water.[8]- Some people also reuse the same used oregano leaves for a week, but some prefer using free oregano leaves-tea each time.
Soak your feet into the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes each time.
Prepare a povidone-iodine foot bath. Povidone-iodine is an antiseptic solution used for killing bacteria. Soaking your feet in this mixture of warm water and povidone-iodine will help you get rid of harmful bacteria and fungi.
Take one liter of warm water and add 2 capfuls of Povidone-iodine into it.
Make sure you soak your feet in the mixture for total 40 minutes a day (one time = 20 minutes).- Of course, do not forget to dry your feet completely.
Prepare a lemon foot bath. Your feet perhaps may be producing an unpleasant smell of a particular kind due to athlete’s foot. To avoid your feet stink just add ½ cup of lemon juice in a bucket of water.
Soak your feet in the mixture for 10 minutes daily to mitigate bad odor of your feet.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
- Follow foot bath technique for at least three to six weeks to see remarkable results.Thanks
- Regular use of antifungal soap is necessary to keep fungus away.Thanks
- Wash your feet at least twice a day regularly with the help of antifungal soap.Thanks
Warnings
- If you are diabetic, you should see your physician for treatment.Thanks
- If you continue to see the infection for a prolonged period, make sure you consult a doctor immediatelyThanks
References
- ↑ https://www.thehealthy.com/foot-care/home-remedies-athletes-foot/
- ↑ [v161902_b01]. 19 July 2021.
- ↑ [v161902_b01]. 19 July 2021.
- ↑ [v161902_b01]. 19 July 2021.
- ↑ https://www.thehealthy.com/foot-care/home-remedies-athletes-foot/
- ↑ https://www.drugs.com/npp/mustard.html
- ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17287720/
- ↑ https://www.drugs.com/npp/oregano.html
About This Article
Medical Disclaimer
The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment.
Did this article help you?
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Content from Wiki How English language website. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License; additional terms may apply.
Wiki How does not encourage the violation of any laws, and cannot be responsible for any violations of such laws, should you link to this domain, or use, reproduce, or republish the information contained herein.
- - A few of these subjects are frequently censored by educational, governmental, corporate, parental and other filtering schemes.
- - Some articles may contain names, images, artworks or descriptions of events that some cultures restrict access to
- - Please note: Wiki How does not give you opinion about the law, or advice about medical. If you need specific advice (for example, medical, legal, financial or risk management), please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.
- - Readers should not judge the importance of topics based on their coverage on Wiki How, nor think a topic is important just because it is the subject of a Wiki article.
