The Symptoms When Athlete’s Foot Gets Worse

Athlete’s foot should never be ignored. But the early symptoms of foot fungus, such as itching and dryness, are often disregarded. As days pass by, the athlete’s foot has progressed to a point where regular cleaning can no longer relieve the burning sensation. No matter how diligently one tries to scrub the feet, the peeling and cracking skin remain, the bumps increase, and blisters appear. Without taking medication, athlete’s foot becomes worse and here are the signs and symptoms.

The microorganism that caused athlete’s foot can be spread to other parts of the body, especially when the infected part of the foot is scratched by hand and the hand, which is not washed, touches the other parts of the body. The athlete’s foot can spread to nearby areas such as the groin or can spread as far as the underarms. If it spreads to the groin, a condition similar to jock itch appears. The symptoms will be reddish rashes and fissures. The borders of the rashes may appear darker.

The athlete’s foot can worsen and affect the toenails. When the foot fungus invades the toenails, the obvious signs are discolored toenails. Other symptoms include abnormal thickness or a fragile and an about-to-crumble appearance. These are the symptoms of onchomycosis. The worsening athlete’s foot has made the toenails suffer from onchomycosis, a condition that cannot be cured easily.

The irritating itching and burning symptoms of athlete’s foot can compel a person to scratch the affected areas incessantly. The result is usually an injured skin. An injured skin is an open skin that is vulnerable to bacterial invasion. When bacteria have invaded the skin that has been infected by athlete’s foot, the unmistakable symptoms are swelling, inflammation, pain, and foul smell. The athlete’s foot has worsened and made the skin suffer from a condition called cellulitis. The cellulitis is more difficult to treat than the first symptoms of athlete’s foot.

When the symptoms of worsening athlete’s foot are observed, the doctor must be consulted immediately. Some may still continue the over-the-counter medications for athlete’s foot treatment, believing that these would make improvements soon. But there should be no more hesitation to treat the foot fungus infection. A stronger medication might be needed.