Roundup™ For Athlete’s Foot?

Roundup™ For Athlete’s Foot? Effective treatment of athlete's foot requires and understanding of fungal infections and their treatment.

(PRWEB) April 8, 2006 -- A new patient waited in room three. He was a 32 year old male who suffered with a painful, chronic athlete’s foot infection. After an introduction and brief discussion about chronic athlete’s foot, the patient asked this question; “if my athlete’s foot is a fungus infection and a fungus is a plant, then why can’t I just use Roundup™ on my feet?” “On one hand, you may have had a point” said Dr. Oster. “But on the other hand, outdoor weed killers were not developed for direct contact on human skin.” Dr. Jeffrey Oster is a board certified podiatrist.

According to Oster, the patient does have a good point. Fungal infections are a bit different than bacterial infections. Most bacterial infections can be treated as a finite problem with antibiotics. To treat a strep throat infection, the normal course of treatment would be to use penicillin for 10 days. Once you’ve completed the ten day course of penicillin, the infection is permanently gone. Fungal infections on the other hand are very different from bacterial infections. Fungus is a plant that has no chlorophyll and therefore cannot sustain itself through photosynthesis. Fungus needs to live on dead or dying material. And in chronic athlete’s foot, that material is the skin on the sole of your foot.

“When I work with patients who have a chronic athlete’s foot infections, I stress the fact that fungus is a plant. In fact I compare fungus infections to another well know nuisance plant; crabgrass. Around the office we call this the crabgrass analogy. To treat chronic fungal infections, you need to treat them much like you would treat crabgrass. You need a commitment and a plan” Oster said.

Dr. Oster recommends the following;

1. Focus on the environment inside the shoe.

   a. rotate shoes to allow them to dry out over a period of several days.
   b. use an antiperspirant on the feet every day to decrease moisture.
   c. change your socks two or more times a day.
   d. wear open sandals when possible.

2. Get in the habit of using a topical OTC antifungal. If you want a lawn free of crabgrass, you’ll be out there with your spreader 4 times a year. The same holds true for fungal infections. Treat fungal infections with consistency.

So should you use Roundup™ on your feet? “Obviously the answer is no. But the analogy is appropriate” said Oster. “Treat your feet as well as you would treat your lawn. Your poor feet spend so many hours locked inside that hostile environment we call the shoe.”

Dr. Jeffrey A. Oster is a board certified podiatrist and medical director of Myfootshop.com. Myfootshop.com is a consumer oriented site that provides education and products for foot and ankle problems.

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