Athletes Foot Untreated
Athletes Foot Untreated - What Are the Risks?
A simple case of athletes foot is fairly easy to take care of and there are plenty of over-the-counter medications which can treat the problem without much effort on your part at all.
Whenever you leave athletes foot untreated, however, there are a number of issues which can cause additional problems that may be very difficult to treat in some cases. Being able to recognize when a case of athletes foot has gone on for too long and knowing what to do about it are an important part of being able to take care of the problem effectively.
When you leave athletes foot untreated, the problem will typically get worse to the point where you will even begin to bleed as a result of the cracking skin. This is especially apparent whenever the athletes foot is in between the toes and it is not abnormal to have peeling skin that itches and burns in this area. If left untreated, however, it tends to get much worse and the slight discomfort that you may be feeling at first will tend to get out of control.
There are other types of athletes foot that you may be dealing with as well. Another example of athletes foot is the type that is known as moccasin, which generally shows up on the side of the foot or at times, on the bottom. In the case of athletes foot untreated of the moccasin variety, the issues are typically different than whenever the fungus is found between the toes. This type of athletes foot is difficult to treat anyway, mostly because the skin on the side and bottom of the feet tends to be rather thick. It may also spread to the toenails which can make it extremely difficult to treat effectively as well.
Another problem that tends to occur whenever athletes foot is left untreated is that a bacterial infection may set in. The fungus that is responsible for athletes foot actually puts out an antibacterial substance but it is not a very strong one. Although it will kill most of the bacteria in the area, the stronger bacteria is allowed to remain and even to thrive. That is why most of the bacterial infections that go along with athletes foot untreated conditions tend to be difficult to treat and may need to be treated through prescription antibiotics.
A final word of caution that I would like to mention is the fact that athletes foot untreated can be severely damaging for somebody that is dealing with diabetes. Since individuals with diabetes tend to have problems with their extremities anyway, any problem that would cause cracking of the skin in this area could easily turn into something that would be severe or perhaps even life-threatening. If you have athletes foot and you are dealing with diabetes, make sure that you immediately see your doctor in order to get effective treatment so that it does not get any worse for you.