Not too long ago I found that my feet were quite itchy. There was some kind of redness in the creases between the toes. At times, in the middle of the day I felt like taking off my shoes and socks, just to scratch my feet. My husband told me that I had athletes foot. Even though I had not been to a gym or a locker room recently I was convinced that it could not have been an athletes foot. However my husband also had an athletes foot when he played football in college and my symptoms matched his.

I had fixed an appointment with a physician hence I mentioned the itchy feet to my doctor. After a looking at my feet briefly, my doctor stated that I had athletes foot. He further went on to explain that athletes foot is a fungal infection of the feet and toes that lives on the surface of your skin. These fungal cells can survive on wet warm surfaces for a period of time, so this is how athletes foot passes from one person to another so easily in locker rooms and pool areas. Though I explained to my doctor what I had initially told my husband about not being in any of those places of late, he only retorted that I could have picked it up from some place else.

He advised me that the best way to treat an athletes foot is to use a powder or cream for it and to wear cotton socks. He also recommended me to change my socks often if I regularly exercised or if my feet sweat. Besides he suggested about treating my shoes too, so that the athletes foot would have a chance to clear up. In addition, he directed me to wear sandals in the shower so I would not pass my athletes foot to other family members.

All along my way home, I was simply trying to figure out from where or how I had contracted the athletes foot. When I reached home, I told my husband that I did have athletes foot and that I had picked up powder and cream to help me get rid of it. Somehow he figured how I got it from, it was not too long ago when we had spent a weekend at a friends' house and stayed in their son's room and had also used his bathroom to shower in. My friend's son had been battling athletes foot since basketball season.

Thankfully I do not have a very bad case of the athletes foot and have already found that the itching has slightly lessened. In fact I feel fortunate, as apparently several people who I have spoken to, have stated that it took them several months to get rid of the athletes foot. For sure, I know that one can pick up athletes foot in public areas, but who would ever think that I could get it at a friend's home!