Best creams and gels for athlete’s foot
There are multiple topical creams and gels that can help treat an athlete's foot, with most treatments improving symptoms within a few days. But it can take up to four weeks to achieve a complete cure. If your symptoms don’t improve within two weeks, contact your doctor or healthcare provider.
Best powders for athlete’s foot
Powders are an easy-to-use treatment for athlete's foot. They can treat the affected area and prevent reinfection after being sprinkled into your socks and shoes. Powders also help absorb excess sweat, creating a less favorable environment for fungi to grow. Currently, Miconazole is the only available powder antifungal.
Best sprays for athlete’s foot
Antifungal sprays are convenient for use on the feet, as they allow the medicine to reach between your toes more easily. You can also use them to spray the inside of your shoes and socks to prevent the infection from worsening and reduce the risk of reinfection. Lamisil AT 1% Spray is applied once a day for a week to the affected area. Within a week, you should notice an improvement in your symptoms after using it.
Best tablets for athlete’s foot
Oral antifungal tablets aren’t typically the first line of treatment for athlete's foot, but if you have a severe or persistent infection, your doctor will recommend oral antifungals, like Terbinafine. It’s taken once a day for two to six weeks depending on the severity of your infection. As tablets work systemically, there’s an increased likelihood of experiencing side effects such as appetite loss, stomach ache, nausea and headaches. For the full list of side effects, check the patient package insert.
Treatments for persistent athlete’s foot
Most of the time, athlete's foot will be treated with topical antifungals. But for persistent cases, you’ll need oral antifungals, such as Lamisil tablets, to clear the infection from within. They’re only available with a prescription, so you’ll need a consultation with a doctor so they can check they’re safe and suitable for you.
Oral antifungals kill the fungi within the body (systemically), which is more effective than topical treatments that only work at the surface level. This was proven in a study where one week of oral terbinafine was more effective than four weeks of topical clotrimazole.
But as you’re more likely to experience side effects with oral antifungals, your doctor will only recommend them if topicals don’t work.
Home remedies for athlete’s foot
You might find multiple home remedies when looking for treatments online for athlete's foot. While some people might have had positive results while using home remedies, most aren't supported by scientific evidence.
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is a popular home remedy for athlete's foot because of its antifungal properties that can disrupt the growth of fungal cell membranes.[8] But despite these properties, there isn't enough scientific evidence to support its effectiveness as a treatment for athlete's foot.
In fact, in one study, patients using a topical antifungal had an 85% clinical cure rate compared to only 30% for patients using tea tree oil. While symptoms were improved at similar levels to the antifungal medicine by using tea tree, it was no more effective than placebo at achieving a mycological cure (a negative laboratory test for fungal infection). So while tea tree oil may help reduce the symptoms, it won’t help you achieve a clinical cure.
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is another home remedy often said to treat athlete's foot. While hydrogen peroxide has antifungal and antibacterial properties, there’s no scientific data to support the claim that it’s effective in treating athlete's foot. Even at lower concentrations, hydrogen peroxide can irritate your skin and may damage healthy skin and immune cells, which can slow down the recovery process. It’s best to avoid using hydrogen peroxide if you have athlete's foot, as it may do more harm than good.
