What is swimmer's eczema and (natural) treatment. Discover everything about swimmer's eczema, how to treat it in a (natural) way and discover how to prevent swimmer's eczema. Swimmer's eczema is not age-related and so anyone can get it. It is true that one has a greater risk of getting this than another.
Swimmer's eczema (medically:tinea pedis) is not eczema, but a fungal infection of (usually) one or both feet. It is also referred to by the more appropriate name "athlete's foot".
Swimmer's eczema owes its name to the fact that you can get this form of athlete's foot, especially during a visit to the pool. But you can also become infected with swimmer's eczema in other areas where people walk barefoot and the climate is favorable for the fungus.
A typical feature of athlete's foot is wet, scaly patches mainly found between the toes. Fungi can also cause small or large blisters on the feet. Sometimes these are blisters located deep in the skin, a few millimeters in size, which turn into scaly patches. But sometimes they can also be blisters up to a few centimeters in size, filled with exudate.
The infection can spread to the nails. In that case, however, you speak of fungal nails. The fungus causes a lot of itching. Don't scratch it too much, as this will open the feet. Moreover, the fungus can spread in this way.
The doctor or dermatologist can only determine by looking whether someone suffers from swimmer's eczema or not. If there are any doubts, for whatever reason, the doctor or dermatologist can find out through two other tests whether it is actually swimmer's eczema:
1. Microscopic examination :with this you can directly see fungal threads
2. Fungus Week: This involves sending some dander to a laboratory to be examined. The results may take a few weeks.
There are several ways to treat swimmer's eczema. You can use medicines or treat the fungus with natural means. Sometimes no treatment is needed and the fungus disappears on its own after a while.
If you want to use medication, an anti-fungal medicine will be prescribed by the doctor or dermatologist. The anti-fungal agents contain imidazole derivatives such as clotrimazole, econazole, miconazole or sulconazole. These agents are mold growth inhibitors. Products containing terbinafine are antifungal. Iodine-containing products with 10% povidone iodine also work against swimmer's eczema. Some people are also allergic to these substances.
If you suffer from an infected fungus or a very extensive fungus, you will be prescribed a course of antibiotics to combat the infection. This is combined with another oral medication to treat and cure the fungus.
In addition to the medicinal products, you also have a choice of other natural means to treat swimmer's eczema. The big advantage of using a natural remedy is that it often has no side effects and can be bought in the supermarket. Moreover, it is many times cheaper than medicines.
– The itching that develops with swimmer's eczema can be remedied fairly easily if you use (menthol) talcum powder on sprinkles. From personal experience I can say that menthol powder works a little better, since the menthol provides cooling. Another advantage is the fact that talcum powder dries out the wet spots caused by the fungus. This already makes for a much more pleasant feeling.
– It also helps to soak the feet in a foot bath with vinegar. Vinegar not only has a preventive, but also a healing effect.
– A salt bath would also like to help. Simply dissolve some salt in lukewarm water and soak your feet in it.
– Another natural remedy is soaking the infected feet in a bath containing biotex green or blue.
– The medicinal application of tea tree oil has been known to Australian aborigines for thousands of years. They made special herbal teas from it and used the infusion to treat wounds, burns and all kinds of pain. However, the oil's greatest strength appears to be in fighting infections and skin conditions such as swimmer's eczema. Tea tree oil can be used as an essential oil. By the way, there are many more options for using essential oil for your health, among other things.
– Finally, two natural products that are widely known for their disinfecting and healing effect: honey and aloe vera † Smearing with honey or the juice of aloe vera is sufficient. Leave on for about 10 minutes and finally rinse.
How you want to treat the fungus depends on your own preference. But whatever you do, make sure your feet are well cleaned first. This can be done by rinsing them and then drying them well. Place the towel in the washing machine immediately after use to prevent (re)contamination or spread of the fungus.
If you soak your feet in a bath, make sure that the feet are dried thoroughly afterwards. Of course, this also applies to after swimming. Especially between the toes, moisture can easily remain. That is why it is necessary to pay extra attention to this.
You can sprinkle special powder in shoes so that the feet are not (re)contaminated. Socks should be changed after each treatment. Make sure that socks do not cause sweaty feet, otherwise rather just step barefoot in slippers and walk around (indoors) with them. This also gives the feet enough air and the wet spots caused by the fungus dry faster.
Wash your hands well after treatment of the feet (in any way!
There are a number of things that can reduce the risk of being infected with swimmer's eczema:
– Always dry your feet well off, also between your toes
– Provide shoes that ventilate and of a natural material are made. This prevents sweaty feet, which are the ideal breeding ground for fungi.
– Wear socks made of natural material such as cotton, also to prevent sweating
– In public areas such as swimming pools, changing rooms and gyms, wear slippers or shoes as much as possible and walk barefoot as little as possible
Remember :anyone can get swimmer's eczema, including (young) children! Therefore, always take good care of your feet, they should last you a lifetime!
Hopefully you now know more about what is swimmer's eczema and (natural) treatment. Have you ever had swimmer's eczema and how did you treat it? Let me know in the comments!
