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Summary
Athlete's foot is a common infection caused by a fungus. It most often affects the space between the toes. Symptoms include itching, burning, and cracked, scaly skin between your toes.
You can get athlete's foot from damp surfaces, such as showers, swimming pools, and locker room floors. To prevent it:
- Keep your feet clean, dry, and cool
- Wear clean socks
- Don't walk barefoot in public areas
- Wear flip-flops in locker room showers
- Keep your toenails clean and clipped short
Treatments include over-the-counter antifungal creams for most cases and prescription medicines for more serious infections. These usually clear up the infection, but it can come back.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diagnosis and Tests
- Fungal Culture Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Fungus Infections: Preventing Recurrence (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
- How to Prevent Athlete's Foot (American Academy of Dermatology)
Images
- Athlete's Foot (Tinea Pedis) (VisualDX)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Tinea Pedis (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- American Podiatric Medical Association
- Find a Dermatologist (American Academy of Dermatology)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Children
- Athlete's Foot (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Athlete's Foot (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Athlete's foot (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Skin lesion KOH exam (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish