How contagious is athlete’s foot?

Introduction

Many people suffer from athlete’s foot once in their life. The contagious disease spreads mainly in community facilities such as swimming pools, schools or sports clubs and can become a nuisance for the person affected. Mostly the space between the toes is affected.

Severe itching and scaling of the skin are the result. But how contagious is such a foot fungus actually? And what is the best way to avoid an infection?

and ointments against athlete’s footIn principle, there are a few things you can do yourself to prevent infection with athlete’s foot. There are places where it is particularly easy to become infected. If you know simple measures to avoid an infection and pay careful attention to them, you can prevent a mycosis pedis infection in many cases.

Wounds on the feet or dry and roughened skin favour the infection with athlete’s foot. Tight shoes often cause tiny wounds in the spaces between the toes, which are caused by the skin rubbing against each other. Hygiene habits also have an influence on the risk of infection. Too frequent cleaning of the feet with shower gels or disinfectant solutions destroys the natural skin barrier and makes it easier for germs to enter.

Transfer to other parts of the body

In general, a transmission of the athlete’s foot to other parts of the body is rather unlikely. In most cases it is limited to the spaces between the toes or the sole of the foot. In very pronounced cases the back of the foot is also involved.

However, if the immune system is weakened, for example by HIV infection or diabetes mellitus, athlete’s foot can also affect other parts of the body. However, this is very unlikely in people with an intact immune system. However, those who do not receive treatment for a long time, months or years, increase the risk of athlete’s foot spreading to other parts of the body. Especially scratching the feet promotes the colonization of other parts of the body, such as the hands, face or scalp.