The classic athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis) is the most common fungal disease in humans. The pathogens are usually Trychophyton rubrum or Trychophyton mentagrophytes. The transmission takes place via direct contact of the pathogen with the skin. It is sufficient that the pathogen is on the skin scales of other people who currently suffer from athlete’s foot. #
Initial symptoms
The first initial symptoms usually manifest themselves as increased itching (pruritus) at the affected area. There are three different types of athlete’s foot based on the place of occurrence: With all three types the itching is in the foreground, in addition it comes both to a redness, and to a scaling of the affected skin. There can also be a formation of blisters and pustules.
Small tears through all layers of the skin (rhagades), like the increased formation of calluses (hyperkeratosis), occur less frequently at the beginning of the disease, but usually only in the further course of the disease. When handling soap, one should be rather careful in the area affected by athlete’s foot, since contact with soap can cause a strong burning sensation. and How contagious is athlete’s foot?
- Either the fungus occurs between the toes (interdigital type), where it occurs particularly frequently between the 4th and 5th toe
- On the sole of the foot (squamous-hyperkeratotic type). Here, the medical term does not describe the place of occurrence, but the appearance.
- On the arch of the foot or the side edges of the foot. This is the vesiculo-dyshidrophic type, again the medical term only describes the appearance and not the place of occurrence.
Diagnostics
In some cases, a visual diagnosis is sufficient. In order to confirm the pathogen and, if necessary, to confirm the differential diagnosis, the pathogen can be detected microscopically or by cultivation on appropriate culture media. The athlete’s foot can be distinguished from bacterial diseases, especially if the interdigital space between the toes is affected.
