If you suffer from patchy dry skin on the soles of your feet or moist peeling irritable skin between your toes you may have a fungal foot infection called tinea pedis. This is very common especially amongst sportspeople and those who have problems with hot and sweaty feet. (Athlete’s foot is a form of tinea pedis which is a painful skin condition that causes an itching or burning sensation.)
Kolorex Foot & Toe Care cream is a natural product used to combat fungal foot infections and leave your feet feeling clean and fresh.
The importance of clean and well washed socks has been known for a long time, however there is research that tests how hot your sock laundry water should be to eliminate tinea pedis from your socks. The researchers found that washing socks in very hot water is necessary to stop re-infecting the feet of people suffering from fungal foot infections. They showed that “laundering at low temperatures is not effective in eradicating fungal pathogens, which requires high temperature laundering at 60°C” (140°F). You need to get the water so hot that you can just manage to put your fingers in to test it. (Water at 60°C is hot enough to scald your hand.)
Similar work has been done at the Hohenstein Institute in Germany where researchers also showed that fungal spores can be transferred from socks to other items of clothing even in an open washing basket. If these other items of clothing are not washed in hot water the fungus can survive in the washer and could cause infection. The advice from this study is to keep socks separate from the rest of your clothing and wash them in hot water after other clothes have been laundered.
Your sports and everyday shoes can harbour bacteria and fungi as well. If you are having trouble with your feet it would be beneficial to also dose your shoes with an antifungal and antibacterial powder as shoes can also be a source of reinfection.
So if you are having trouble with fungal foot infections don’t just think about your feet. Firstly use a good antifungal foot cream but also wash your socks in really hot soapy water and dust your shoes with an effective antifungal powder.
Amichai, B., Grunwald, M. H., Davidovici, B., Farhi, R., & Shemer, A. (2013). The effect of domestic laundry processes on fungal contamination of socks. International Journal of Dermatology, n/a–n/a. doi:10.1111/ijd.12167
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijd.12167/full
http://laundry.about.com/od/laundrybasics/a/athletesfootlaundry.htm