Do you have itchy rash on the arch or heel of your foot?

An itchy rash on the arch or heel of the foot is an extremely common problem to have.

• Since the arch of your foot is very thin, it is a prime target for feeling itching and irritation.
• The most common causes are eczema, dehydration of the skin, dermatitis due to irritation by a material (sock or shoe) and athlete’s foot (Tinea Pedis).

  Athlete’s foot is the most common cause:

• These are usually very easily treated since the offending agent can be removed or corrected and the fungus easily treated compared to the more difficult nail fungus.

Itchy rash on the arch or heel of the foot

Symptoms of an itchy foot arch rash:

• Red or violet skin color.
• Inflamed skin.
• Blisters if very severe (Assume acute fungal infection or athlete’s foot).
• Flaky dry skin (assume chronic fungal infection).
• Peeling skin.
• Bleeding and scarring from scratching.

Strongly consider athlete’s foot or foot fungus if you have dry & flaky skin as in this distribution.

Prevention of itchy rash on the arch or heel:

The majority of causes of itchy foot arch rashes consist of irritations that should be removed by trying to remove different materials that may be irritating your feet such as the socks, shoes or detergents. The second major cause is due to dehydration which can be prevented by wearing thinner socks, moisturizing your feet after taking a bath or shower;  The third common cause is hygiene- simply washing and moisturizing may take care of it; the fourth major cause if fungal infection which will need an athlete’s foot medication to take care of the problem.

• Allergies to a material.
• Dehydration (low humidity and wet feet that need to be moisturized).
• Overly sweaty feet due to bacteria (pomphylox which may need medication and moisturizing).
• Overly sweaty feet due to heat (need better socks).
• Insect, tick or flea bites.
• Sock material irritation.
• Shoe material irritation.
• Soap, laundry detergent or perfume irritation.
• Pregnant women hormones.
• Poor foot hygiene.
• Lack of moisturizing after bathing or showering.

 

Strongly consider foot fungus:

15% of the world has foot fungus. This causes chronically dry, itchy and flaky skin.

Symptoms of foot fungus:

• **If constant dry skin in the foot: assume foot fungus!**
• **If toenail fungus: assume you have, or have had foot fungus!**
• Usually persistent dry skin means foot fungus!
• Scaling, flaking and itching.
• Pain, swelling and inflammation.
• Blisters and cracking of the skin may occur.
• Usually in the sole of the foot and not on top of the foot.
• Can be in between the toes in the web-spaces.

Constantly dry and itchy skin is a sure sign of foot fungus. Even if it has been present for numerous years!

Who is at risk for infection?

• 15% of the USA population is estimated to have foot fungus.
• Fungus reproduces through spores, which are very difficult to eradicate & they grow when conditions are ripe!
• Fungus thrives in moist areas such as showers or pools.
• It requires a warm moist environment to grow such as socks or inside a shoe.
• Some people have a genetic variation that decreases their body’s ability to eradicate the fungus.
• People with toenail fungus are more susceptible to foot fungus.

Home treatment of an itchy foot arch and heel rash

First you should identify what the cause of your athlete’s foot is which may be an involved process, but try the above prevention first.

Stage 1: Remove the cause of the problem.

Moisturize your skin after taking a shower or bath. Water dehydrates your skin and is a very common cause of eczema!

• Wash feet your feet with soap regularly.
• Moisturize with any moisturizing cream after your feet get wet (this prevents dehydration) every time for 2 weeks!
• Change the material of your socks or any other material that may be irritating your feet (perfume etc)

Stage 2: Try an over the counter cortisone cream or antihistamine medication.

If it is not foot fungus, then it can be an allergy or irritation. Hydrocortisone cream will decrease the inflammation. But if it gets worse, stop using it and assume fungus!

• Consult with your doctor and pharmacist, but 2/3rds of itchy rashes will be taken care of with a week or so of over the counter cortisone cream.
• If this works you likely had eczema or dermatitis.
• If the rash does not get better move on to step 3.

Stage 3: If that fails, assume fungus!

• If the rash got worse with the cortisone cream or antihistamines, it is likely athlete’s foot or a fungus.
• At this point you should go see your podiatrist for some foot medication.
• 2 weeks of medication will take care of almost any athletes foot with 100% certainty.

Stage 4: Also treat toenail fungus if present.

Toenail Fungus Can Re-infect Your Skin!

• When treating your foot fungus, you should treat your toenail fungus as well!

• Foot fungus can lead to toenail fungus.
• But toenail fungus can also lead to foot fungus.
• People who treat their foot fungus but continue to have toenail fungus will just re-infect themselves.

Jump to the toenail fungus treatment guide!

For more information about itchy rash on the arch or heel visit this link!
and   For info on itchy skin follow this link!

Do you have dry cracked feet?

Dry Cracked Feet – stop getting annoyed by itchiness, flaking and irritated skin. Find out what’s causing it and start treating it!

Why do we get dry cracked feet?

Usually if the the skin is severely dry an cracked as seen in the picture, something is causing it.

• The skin on the bottom of our soles is special because it is thicker than the rest of the skin in our body.
• It also relies more on sweat glands rather than oil glands to keep moist, so it is more important to keep it moisturized.

• It is important to keep the bottom of the feet moisturized, it is the ultimate cure for any cause!

This thick skin is more susceptible to dehydration to to lack of moisturizing; it is also more prone to inflammatory reactions and fungal irritation.

Dry cracked feet symptoms:

If the dry, cracked feet are very severe, then something else can be causing it. The symptoms will range from the following:

• Itchy skin.
• Red skin.
• Cracks in the skin.
• Bleeding may be associated with the cracks.
• Peeling at the bottom of the foot and heel.
• Flakes and flaking.
• Rough, uneven skin.
• Development of a rash.
• Worse after showering or bathing.

Dry cracked feet causes:

• Showering or bathing.
• Inflammatory skin conditions: exczema, psoriasis and many more.
• Contact dermatitis (irritation by a harsh substance- such us a lower quality soap, or chlorine).
• Cold weather (causing dehydration).
• Low humidity in your home (causing dehydration).
• Older Age (less blood supply)
• Peripheral vascular disease.
• Smoking.
• Diabetes.

Home treatment guide and suggestions:

Follow this treatment protocol to fix your dry cracked feet!

1) Assume skin irritation.

Assume initially it is dryness, dehydration or an inflammatory condition.

• 2/3rds are caused by inflammatory causes: eczema, skin conditions, irritation, dehydration, sweating disorders.
• **Inflammatory Conditions are all treated the same way, but different than fungal conditions**.
• For best results always go see your podiatrist or dermatologist!

The skin irritation  treatment guide!

2) Consider athlete’s foot:

If part 1 does not cause your foot to get better after a week, it may be a fungal infection.

• 1/3rd are caused by Fungal Irritation.
• **Fungal conditions are all essentially treated the same way, but different than inflammatory conditions**.
• For best results always go see your podiatrist or dermatologist!

The complete foot fungus treatment guide!

The way I would treat this if it was myself:

• 1)Assume inflammatory causes and start treating it that way.
• 2)If it doesn’t start getting better after a week or so, it is most likely fungal irritation.
• 3) Go see your podiatrist since something more complicated may be going on.

To exercise you need your feet healthy so check this link for more information about your dry cracked feet!

How to treat foot fungus with home cures?

* Foot Fungus home cures: new skin takes approximately 30 days to grow out, these cures make sure the new skin is fungus free!

What is foot fungus?

Foot fungus is a superficial infection on the skin of the foot:

• Millions of people in the USA and even more around the world have it!
• It is a very common infection to have.
• Most people get it in moist areas such as pools and showers.
• This can lead to dry skin, flaking, itching and pain.
• In fact it should be assumed that most constantly dry and thick foot skin is due to foot fungus!
• Foot fungus can also present as thick fungal nails.

 To learn more about foot fungus - click here!

Foot fungus home cures:

There is not a great deal of medical studies available for  home remedies because there is no one to fund them!

• But studies show that skin fungus is very superficial and easy to cure.
• Most of the following home remedies have been shown to have a consensus success rate by patients!

1) Apple vinegar soak treatment:

 Pros:

• + Easy to use method.
• +Very cheap and readily available at home.
• + 85% success rate.

Cons:

• - Can irritate the skin in some people.

Success rate can be 85%+ after 4 weeks of use!

Why Does It Work?

• A Michigan State University (MSU) study shows that Vinegar has anti-fungal properties.
• This study focused on fungal toenails, but skin fungus is much more superficial and easier to treat than toenail fungus.
• Apple Cider Vinegar provides a inhospitable acidic environment for the fungus.
• It is a fungicidal chemical, this means that it kills the fungus rather than just preventing its growth.
• It is very common to hear people say they feel immediately better after using this just for a short time!

Success Rate:

• Skin takes approximately 30 days to progress from the stem cells to the superficial skin.
• For this reason treatment must be approximately 30 days in length.
• Studies have shown that if only 2 weeks of treatment are performed, cure is achieved 20%. If 4-6 weeks of treatment are maintained, then cure rate is about 65-85%
• If you still have skin fungus after 4-6 weeks, you may have something and should go see your physician!

Soak for just 10 minutes or so a day, but if your skin is irritated: Stop or take breaks!

Instructions:

1. Pour some apple vinegar or some white vinegar (either is fine) into a tub of warm water.
2. The mixture can be  1/3 or less  if your skin becomes irritated.
3. Normally use about 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar and dilute it with water. Then soak!
4. If the skin becomes irritated, then slow the treatment down; do it every second or third day instead of every day.
5. The skin needs about 4 weeks worth of treatment to get better, but if the fungus comes back, just do this again!
6. Put lemon or orange peels into the vinegar while you are storing it within the fridge, this will help eliminate the vinegar smell.

 2) Vick’s vapor rub treatment:

 Pros:

• + Easy to use method.
• +Very cheap and readily available at home.
• + High success rate, but perhaps not as potent as vinegar.
• +Less caustic(harmful) to the skin as vinegar.

Cons:

• - It can get all over your sheets.

Vick’s VapoRub has been shown to have potent anti-fungal properties!

Why Does It Work?

• A Spanish study indicates that the components of Vick’s Vapor rub are very anti-fungal.
• The Mayo Clinic on the other hand states that more treatment studies are necessary.

Vick’s Vapor Rub contains ingredients which have been independently proven to have anti-fungal properties in studies.

• Camphor (4.8%).
• Thymol (1.2%).
• Menthol (2.6%).

Success Rate:

• Skin takes approximately 30 days to progress from the stem cells to the superficial skin.
• For this reason treatment must be approximately 30 days in length.
• Studies have shown that if only 2 weeks of treatment are performed, cure is achieved 20%. If 4-6 weeks of treatment are maintained, then cure rate is about 65-85%
• If you still have skin fungus after 4-6 weeks, you may have something and should go see your physician!

Instructions:

1. Rub a small amount onto the effected regions every night before you go to bed.
2. The exact amount is not extremely important, do not go crazy with large amounts.
3. Put some socks over it so it does not get onto your sheets.
4. Remember to keep using it for at least 4 weeks!

C) Tea tree oil foot soak remedy:

Pros:

• + Easy to use method.
• + All Natural.
• + Fairly cheap, <$10 per bottle .
• + Also works on the toenails.
• + 85% success rate if used correctly.
• + Does not irritate the feet.
• + Can be used as a topical or a foot soak.

Cons:

• - Can irritate the skin in some people.
• - Soaking feet can be annoying.
• - Can smell, but ways to make it smell better.
• - Careful if you are a diabetic.
• - Careful if you have peripheral neuropathy.

D) Listerine foot soak remedy:

Listerine does not have any specific medical trials proving its efficacy. Yet there is overwhelming evidence that its ingredients are anti-fungal.

Pros:

• + Easy to use method.
• + Double use for a readily available home product.
• + Readily available in most homes.
• + Also works on the toenails.
• + Can be applied as a topical without having to soak.
• + Very high success rate.
• + Not very irritating to the skin.
• + Based on medically proven ingredients.
• + Nice smell.

Cons:

• - May not be as potent as some of the other home remedies.
• - Annoying to apply every night.
• - Can become expensive.
• - Costs about $10 for a 1.5 L jug of Listerine.
• - No specific medical trials for using it.

3) Topical medications and powders!

Look I know I said this was a home remedy guide, but these things are cheap and effective!

• Sprays and powders really are your best bet.
• They are easy to put on & very cost effective.

So skip to the complete treatment guide and learn about them!

Toenail fungus acts as a fungus reservoir:

The fungus under your toenails can come out and reinfect the skin and web spaces of your foot.
It is important to cure both the skin fungus and the toenail fungus!

 If you have fungal  nails, they need to be treated as well!