Safety measures for swimming after foot fungus/athlete’s foot
I got infected with foot fungus aka athlete’s foot after I had to take medication that suppressed my immune system. That also made it harder to get rid of the fungus, but it’s done now. My immune system is getting better but still pretty bad. I would like to go swimming again.
At home, my safety measures for showering are still
- remove socks and spray them with disinfectant
- spray house shoes (plastic, basically shower sandals)
- shower
- use normal towel above the feet
- use single use towels (similar to paper towels) to dry the feet and as a floor mat outside the shower
- wait for the feet to be really dry
- put on medical cream
- clean hands, wait
- put on toe socks
- discard single-use towels
- disinfect hands
Of course, I will be wearing shower sandals at the pool unless I am in the water. But how do you deal with them when it comes to drying off and getting dressed?
The sandals are wet, the feet are wet and need to be dried and are not supposed to touch the floor.
Do you dry the sandals with a towel? Do you wash them? Where do you put them on the way home? I was thinking trash bag (can still be used for trash afterwards), which I do when I stay at a hotel.
This may seem like I am overcomplicating things but it’s been a looong time of just waking up, eating, caring for feet, going to work, caring for feet and going to sleep… ._.
If you take any safety measures against foot fungus, please share every step. I am thankful for every piece of advice.
5 replies
Sorry you’re going through that, and props for looking out for your fellow swimmers!
I haven’t personally dealt with this, so treat this as second-rate advice coming from someone just acting as a sounding board for your particular problem: Your overarching priority should be moisture management.
Assuming you’ve got a standard locker room situation, what I’d do is wear the sandals over to a bench next to my normal shoes, towel off, unstrap sandals, get dressed standing with feet on the tops of the sandals, sit down to dry feet with paper towel, medicate + moisturize* feet (letting them dry with heels rested on your paper towel), and finally put on socks + shoes.
There’s a chance you may stumble off your shoes getting dressed, but the odds of transmitting an actively-treated and managed infection from that level of contact are slim to none. (Obligatory reminder that a not-insignificant portion of the population is walking around with unmanaged Tinea as a chronic state of affairs for decades…)
Depending on how you’re getting around, I’d try to let the sandals air dry instead of putting them in a sealed bag, but that may or may not be practical depending on your circumstances. If you’re in a hot + dry climate, air dry in the sun; otherwise it’s probably wise to help the drying process along however you easily can.
*I’m assuming your doctor’s given the standard advice on that front, but if not, talk to them: it should usually be a light protective barrier applied to keep skin healthy after it’s dried and medicated.
Thank you for your reply! The getting dressed method sounds good.
As far as drying the shower sandals goes: I usually go swimming before work and out all of my stuff in my backpack. But even if I go directly home, I put everything in my backpack (30 min walk home). Air drying is not really an option, at least not until I get home (after 30 mins or about 9 hours). I live in Central Europe, so it is hot in the summer, but around freezing temperature in the winter.
Should I disinfect the shower sandals after every swim? (at home when dry or right when I’m changing when they’re still wet?)
That makes total sense.
Assuming they’re non-porous, I’d personally opt for a dilute (~3-4%) vinegar spray once you get home, followed by leaving them in a tub or shower to dry overnight — but the vinegar would be to prevent mildew and bacterial biofilm rather than a proper disinfection.
Drying them out between swims is the most important part, and light soap + water is fine if you feel the need to disinfect more thoroughly.
I live in a sandle centric community. Sun dry wet sandles out by the door. Or if your sandles are wet and you need to walk in them, wear them loose and let them air-dry while you walk. Socks are rarely worn, since shoes are open air and lots of sunlight foot fungus isn't much of a concern.
Ah, that’s a different climate… it’s already down to 10°C here.