What to do if athlete's foot is severe in late pregnancy

Athlete's foot is a highly contagious symptom and has a high recurrence rate. Therefore, if you have athlete's foot, even if you are cured, you should not take it lightly. Many pregnant women also have athlete's foot problems, but unlike ordinary athlete's foot patients who only need to apply medicine, pregnant women cannot take medicine at will, otherwise it will affect the safety of the fetus. So, if pregnant women have severe athlete's foot, what measures can they take?

1. Why do pregnant women get athlete’s foot?

It is common for pregnant women to have athlete's foot. This is mainly because during pregnancy, the endocrine system undergoes sudden changes, and it is difficult for the body to recover in a short period of time. During this period, in addition to meeting their own nutritional needs, they also have to meet the nutritional supply of the baby in the body, which puts higher requirements on the balanced intake of nutrition. At the same time, many pregnant women suffer from adverse reactions such as vomiting due to pregnancy reactions, which makes it impossible for them to fully guarantee their nutritional intake, resulting in insufficient nutritional supply. In particular, the lack of vitamin B1 during pregnancy can easily cause the lack of this nutrient in the skin of the toes, resulting in nutritional metabolism disorders and symptoms of athlete's foot.

2. Misunderstandings about the treatment of athlete's foot

1. Soak your feet in salt water

Salt water has a certain bactericidal effect, but athlete's foot is a fungal infection. Fungi are a type of microorganism, and salt water has no effect on fungi.

Hot salt water can promote local blood circulation and help sleep, but it is not effective in treating athlete's foot.

2. Apply essential oil

Fengyoujing itself has the effect of relieving itching and pain, but it has no therapeutic effect on athlete's foot caused by fungi. Pregnant women should not use Fengyoujing and it is recommended to be treated under the guidance of a doctor.

3. Apply garlic to the ulcerated area

Allicin can indeed kill fungi, but when the affected area becomes ulcerated, it means it has been infected by bacteria, and applying garlic will only make the condition worse.

Pregnant women can wash their feet with an appropriate amount of potassium permanganate water under the guidance of a doctor to treat bacterial infections.

3. How to take care of athlete’s foot during pregnancy?

1. Pay attention to foot hygiene. Wash your feet frequently, change your socks frequently, keep your feet dry and breathable, and dry them in the sun after washing. Soak your feet in hot water before going to bed.

2. Generally, medicines for treating athlete's foot are not suitable for pregnant women. If it is very itchy, you can use toothpaste to relieve the itching.

3. If your feet sweat too much, sprinkle some talcum powder on your feet every day to effectively suppress sweating. People with close toes can use straw paper to sandwich their toes to absorb moisture and allow ventilation, thereby avoiding fungal infections caused by excessive sweating.

4. Try to avoid wearing non-breathable shoes, such as sports shoes, hiking shoes, etc. These shoes can cause a significant increase in foot sweat, which can not only cause athlete's foot, but can also make foot odor worse.

5. Pay attention to controlling your emotions. It is very important to maintain a calm mood, because excited emotions can easily induce excessive sweating, thereby aggravating athlete's foot.