How on earth could I get this athlete’s foot?
This could have been the first thing on your mind if your medical tests confirmed the fungus presence. Actually it’s not that hard to get this disease.
Before we go ahead you should know the culprit behind it. There’s a certain kind of fungi known as dermatophytes and that’s what causes athlete’s foot. These tiny living beings grow locks of minuscule extensions that taint the superficial cover of the skin. The protective portion of the skin reacts to it by producing more skin cells than it should. As this skin growth gets pushed to the surface, it turns into thick and scaly skin. As the fungi spreads further, the more scales your skin starts making hence advancing the infection.
These tiny creatures flourish in moist, sealed environments usually due to thick and tight shoes which press the toes to each other and form warm, damp spots between them. Moist socks and shoes especially the plastic ones coupled with warm and humid conditions can only accelerate the fungi’s growth.
Athlete’s foot is contagious and can be spread as follows:
Infected skin to healthy skin.
Athlete’s foot can be spread directly because of skin-to-skin contact with an infected area. Person who carries the fungus doesn’t develop signs and symptoms all the time.
Physical object to human.
The fungus can live on floors, on all kinds of surfaces such as rugs, mats, bed linens, dress, shoes. Transmission takes place in areas visited by public especially where there’s a lot of crowd. For example at places likes saunas, locker rooms, and communal baths, swimming pools, and shower rooms.
Pets to human.
There are cases when household pets can transmit fungal infections to humans.
Additional reasons include irritants, dermatitis, allergy rash such as dyshidrotic eczema, psoriasis, keratodermia blenorrhagicum, yeast infections, and other bacterial infections.
Your doctor will carry out a lab test called a KOH in other words potassium hydroxide for microscopic fungal presence. This test is done on small flakes of skin using the microscope. Dermatologists can also carry out this test in their offices giving results within minutes. Sometimes a small portion of your skin may be taken to be sent for biopsy to verify the diagnosis.