you can TRY Tea Tree OIl, BUT I'd also recommend some PREVENTATIVES. A dirty bathtub is key... athlete's foot is spread that way. Not changing your socks... AND not getting enough air circulation to your feet. Go barefoot some... that will help tremendously. Plus, and this might be a rumor, Athlete's foot fungus doesn't like sun... so get a tan on your feet! :o)

I reread my message, thought I should clarify. Not changing your socks will CAUSE athletes foot! :o) Anytime you give a fungus a dark, warm and damp place to live... voila! a fungus colony!

Hi Heathen
I am bare foot most of the time LOL, dont like shoes much. Its Summer here in Australia, so bare foot is best !
SO I dont wear socks. My bath is also clean
Any ideas?

Gill

hmmmm... do you drink a lot of alcohol? I know that certain foods create lovely skin conditions. You might try lowering your sugar intake, taking vitamin C, and maybe eating yogurt with garlic, though maybe not together! :o) Other than that, some people are more susceptible to athlete's foot than others, if you are barefoot all the time, I am thinking that there is an underlying cause to it... like are you taking a lot of antibiotics?

Not sure if it's available down under, but Usnea grows wild all around me. It is wonderful for fungals such as athletes feet, ringworm, jock itch, fingernail fungus, etc. I had 3 teenage boys in my house at one time, and what a relief when I found out about this herb!
Here's an article I found about holistic cures for athletes.
Take care, mate! Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: Holistic.com

Gill, describe your rash/itch a little more please. Do you have any of it between your toes? Is the skin red? Is it dry skin along the side of your foot and on the heel? Have you had the condition diagnosed as athlete's foot?

A foot bath with a decotion of savory I have known to work, if you don't have savory, thyme or margoram.Rub a little vinagar on your feet. Orb

Hi gill

I have had recurring bouts ofathletes foot since a child.A couple of years ago I got nail infection, which is similar, but much more persistent.

I got rid of the nail trouble with tea tree oil, and found that it also helped my athletes foot. I the past I had used zinc and castor oil cream to reduce the foot itch, so I tried mixing a couple of drops of tea tree oil with this.

It works a treat. The tea tree oil is naturaly antifungal, and the zinc and castor oil soothes and protects the skin.

If you arent afraid of having orangey-yellow feet, then turmeric (dry,powdered) also works, being a powerful anti-fungicide,and helping to keep the feet dry.

good luck!

My father had trouble with a nail infection. He has had this infection for at least twenty years, has tried many over-the counter remedies, but has largely stayed away from having it medically treated- he sees it as a minor ailment. Recently we have started to read more about herbalism and homeopathy, and about six months ago he began to use vinegar on his nail after he showered, before he went to bed, and generally after his feet had been in damp, stagnant conditions such as shoes for several hours.
His infection is growing out with his nail, and he is quite pleased with the results. I would think that tea tree oil would be more appealing simply due to its pleasant smell and ability to re-invigorate without drying, but vinegar does work quite well on nail infections.
-Vel

garlic?

If your bath is clean have you cleaned the bath mat? try taking it out and putting in the sink with a bleach and water solution and then cleaning the bath with some tub and tile cleaner. I'd say do a mild bleach and water solution in the bathtub but the last time i tried that i did something funky to my bathtub:) so now i take out the mat lol.

I wonder how much good a baking soda and water foot soak would do you? could also soak with garlic and water. great now i have this image of you doing a dry rub of garlic on your feet and putting them up and then washing them off. lol. though that might be effective. garlic has been used to cure athletes foot a long time now.

Maybe your picking up the fungus from outside. try wearing sandals and airing out your shoes.

The form of athlete's foot that I know is where there is a yeasty smelling deposit in the spaces between the toes. As it progresses the skin in the area begins to crack and infections add to the fun. Iodine is still useful; possibly kelp powder or seaweed. And daily sloshing along the shore, with feet regularly in the sea.

However, the itchy rash on the sides of the feet and soles sounds like something different - possibly a contact allergy from grasses, dust, or even the fabric of the sandals being worn.

Possibly worth trying some sort of barrier cream. Or an insect repellent in case there's a small beastie at the bottom of the trouble. Lavender oil could be a good place to start.

The cure is to either stop all sugar products, honey caffein, etc or to take supplements of Chromium. It should be preferebly organic say Chromium picolinate of GTF Chromium. Keith Rex

tea tree oil (melaleuca) and thymes are powerful anti-fungals- and both grow locally, so should be available.

a poultice of crushed thyme worked better than the brand name cure for DH, who is prone to 'jungle rot' caused by wearing the same pair of jump boots for days at a time.

Hello there! I have athlete's foot, and I thought I would just mention (as I was just researching the subject) some causes and cures for athlete's foot. Apparently, athlete's foot can be transmitted from an infected person's foot to the carpet and shoes, etc. etc....If you have athlete's foot, just so you know, it doesn't go away. You feel it more in the summertime because it's hot and your feet are sweating more, which irritates your skin (but the fungus loves it!). You may not know it, but you are carrying that thing around with you at all times!!! Over time, it WILL get worse (you'll feel it all the time) and make your feet UGLY!!! They turn red, peel...they look NASTY. Trust me. I know. So, wear CLEAN socks, change them twice a day, and boil them after you've washed them, just to make sure you're not reintroducing the fungus to your feet each time. Also, do NOT go barefoot! Wear flip-flops(thongs), sandals (not leather) or whatever, but if you go barefoot, you'll just re-"get" it and give it to others. One more thing...Do NOT share shoes, socks, clippers, etc. with others...this leaves you and others at risk!!!
From one victim to another!

Oh yeah! it IS curable, it's just really hard to get rid of!!! I'm sure gonna try though!!!

It really don't have to be that complicated. The fungus need an alkaline environment, which sweat of the foot is giving. Solution: Wipe your feet in a mix of vinegar and water, cider vinegar prefeered, but any will do. Also wipe shoes inside if you wear any. And also give your socks a dip in the vinegar solution and dry them before use. Vinegar is a mild longlasting acid, harmless in a gentle solution. The advantage of cidervinegar is the apple acid complementing the vinegar. It works whitin a week.

Hello my name is jason and i live in griffin ga. I have had a serious case of athletes feet for about 6 years now and i can't stand it becouse i wanna ware flip flops and sandles but i can't becouse my tonails are yellow and thick. I use to have beautiful feet and i wan't them back so please somebody help and tell me what to put on my nails and feet to make them become clear again. thanks Jason

I have had althetes foot for almost 5 years now, and started using Tea tree oil this past Sunday (3 days ago). I was constantly bothered with the itching and burning, and since I have started using the Tea Tree Oil, I havent had any of it, and the atheletes foot seems to be going away. If would defintely recommend it, but continue the oil for two weeks after the athletes foot appears to go away.

I have had what I think is Athlete's foot for a few weeks now, my toes are extremely itchy and are a little red, no other symptoms, it keeps me awake at night. I have tried teatree and lavender oils, grapeseed oil, even topical ointments from the chemist. I have worn leather sandals all summer, now I am constantly changing my cotton socks and I have just spent hours cleaning bathtub, mat etc... There must be a way to get rid of it but so far no luck!
I am going to see my homeopath as now also my arms and back are getting slightly itchy, maybe that is just sypmpathy !!! Thanks to eveyone for all the tips, I only just discovered this site.
I am now looking into using Neem oil capsules, anyone had any luck with them? Neem is supposed to be an antifungal.

Try "Blue Star Ointment" Active ingredient 1.24% Camphor. It works for me. Not very expensive and can be found at most drugstores, WalMart and even a lot of grocery stores.

I get a bit of nail fungus because I have really deep cuticle beds...

I had tried everything and really just resorted to having painful areas on the end of my toes and not having "pretty" feet.

Then someone suggested tee tree oil, I bought the smallest bottle that they had and applied a little with a q-tip every night for 3 days.

Voila - gone.

I highly recommend this stuff for this use.

My husband has a tendency to get jock itch.

I will look for usnea at the coop, but I've never heard of it before. If I find it, should he ingest it, or apply it topically?

Also, does anyone know which of the other remedies are safe for use in the jock region- it seems like maybe tea tree would be a bit strong. Do you think that applying a thyme poultice or soaking (and drying) his underwear in vinegar would be beneficial and appropriate?

His job is very physical (and sweaty), which makes him prone to fungus.

Thanks

Sanjina,

You asked about ingesting "Usnea".........

I just read an article online about a lady that rapidly
lost her liver due to ingesting "usnic acid" for weight loss. (Usnic acid is found in Usnea.......in the Southern
U.S.........it is called Spanish moss.)

I would NOT ingest this.

I'm not sure if the person in this thread that is recommending the Usnea, had
used it topically..........but the article I read
sure seems to be an indicator that Usnea is NOT SAFE for
ingestion.

Try reading this article, it may help.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://hometreatment.net/home-remedies/skin-hair-and-nails-problems/home-treatment-for-athletes-foot/

This is long but very IMPORTANT info.
Don�t treat your athletes foot with anything except antifungal medication until you have been had a skin test by a dr. The reason behind this suggestion is that what you might think is athlete�s foot, may not be at all. It could very well be eczema, and other home remedies like: Clorox water, Lysol spray, Listerine, etc. will make eczema worse! I know very well how that plays out because I suffered and fought with what I thought was athlete�s foot for one year.
I think that taking some time to read my story would be of tremendous benefit to all who have been suffering for a long time.
Started last July. 1st dr. said it was so bad that only Lamisil tablets would work. Took them for 3 months. Only got worse. Went to another dr. who said I didn�t take the tablets long enough so gave me more for another 3 months. Only got worse. Started treating it myself from suggestions I got on natural health forums: tea tree oil, vinegar, salt water, Lysol spray, bleach water, together with antifungal creams and sprays. Only got worse until I started using coconut oil at night. Still not better though. Tried another dr. who said it wasn�t fungus at all, but eczema. Gave me some dermovate cream, as well as cetaphil for hydrating. Started to heal in 3 days. Has been 2 weeks now and almost gone. Dr. said coconut oil very good as well as olive oil. Can�t believe 2 other drs treated me for a fungal infection for one year without reconsidering what it really might be. By the way, mine was caused by stress.
Bottom line is you are treating what you think is a fungal infection, and it doesn�t get better in a reasonable amount of time, then find another dr. And sometimes fungal home remedies can make another condition worse!
Hope this helps.