Treatment for Severe Cases of Athlete’s Foot

The infection of athlete’s foot usually begins with a mild itching between the toes. Then the itching spreads to the soles and the sides of the feet. Scales begin to appear. And the itching is replaced by a burning sensation. If the athlete’s foot is ignored long term, the toenails will change their color and will start to bleed.

At the early stages of athlete’s foot, the usual treatments recommended are anti-fungal nonprescription drugs such as miconazole, clotrimazole, and Burrow’s solution. These are externally applied to the skin and may come in different forms, such as creams, lotion, powders, and spray. When topically administered to the area affected by athlete’s foot, these medications inhibit the growth of the foot fungus.

Unfortunately, these topical medications only work with mild cases of athlete’s foot. If the foot fungus infection has turned severe, another group of medications are needed. This group of athlete’s foot treatment must be prescribed by a physician and must be taken orally. Some examples of these prescription drugs are itraconazole, fluconazole, and terbinafine.

The itraconazole is a strong anti-fungal medication that must be taken only after meals. Aside from being an athlete’s foot treatment, it can also address other localized infections such as blastomycosis and onychomycosis. However, this foot fungus treatment may have a fatal adverse effect on the liver.

The fluconazole is an anti-fungal treatment that is capable of dealing with infections of internal organs, such as the esophagus, the lungs, and the brain. This is prescribed as athlete’s foot treatment when the physician suspects that the patient has a weakened immune system. The fluconazole works by slowing down the growth of the foot fungus.

And finally, the terbinafine is an anti-fungal medication that comes in two forms, tablets for oral treatment and cream for topical application. Terbinafine attacks the foot fungus by destroying the membrane of the fungi. The major advantage of this athlete’s foot treatment is the lack of side effects.

If the athlete’s foot has been worsened by bacterial infection, antibiotics are included in the foot fungus treatment. At the same time, the blisters and soggy skin of the infected foot are treated with ointments and compresses.