Washing your feet regularly is important for maintaining good foot health and preventing athlete’s foot. Foot washing is especially important if you frequently have sweaty feet or exercise often as it can help prevent athlete’s foot spreading to other parts of your body. Luckily it’s easy to incorporate foot washing into your regular foot care routine. Athlete's foot prevention will be easy when you follow our foot washing tips!

Foot Washing Tips for Athlete's Foot Prevention

Tip #1: You don’t need to use special antibacterial soap to prevent athlete’s foot.

You can use any soap of your preference, it doesn’t need to have any special antibacterial properties, since the goal is to simply wash off athlete’s foot fungus rather than kill it. Soap works by combining microbes with water, enabling them to be easily washed off.

Tip #2: Choose a mild soap that you like using.

Choosing soaps that aren’t too harsh and only include mild ingredients is best for the overall health of your feet. Mild soaps will help keep your feet soft and prevent your feet from feeling uncomfortably dry. Selecting a soap that you like the smell of and enjoy using will encourage you to wash your feet with soap more often.

Tip #3: Choose a soap that generates a good amount of suds.

Soap that creates lots of suds is much easier to lather up and cover your feet with. Pay attention to each part of your feet, taking care to wash your feet as thoroughly as possible. Don’t miss the spaces between your toes - these areas are often warm and moist and carry the potential to be a breeding ground for fungi. Wash the soles, heels, and tops of your feet. Take your time and try not to hurry the process.

Tip #4: Avoid washing your feet with hot water.

Hot water encourages the optimum conditions for athlete’s foot fungi to thrive. Before you begin washing your feet check the temperature with the back of your hand or wrist. It’s best to stick with a warm temperature that's not too hot or too cold.

Tip #5: Dry your feet thoroughly.

One of the most important parts of athlete's foot prevention is keeping your feet dry and clean. As mentioned in past posts, damp and warm conditions encourage the fungus to take hold. Whenever you wash your feet, make sure to dry them thoroughly with a clean and dry towel. Make sure to pay special attention when drying the spaces between your toes, soles, and heels.

Foot Care After Washing to Prevent Athlete's Foot

Effective foot care doesn’t end with regularly washing your feet. Once you’ve washed your feet, it’s important to follow a few key steps to keep your feet fungus free.

Always put on a pair of clean socks after cleaning your feet. Don’t put on the same pair of socks you were wearing earlier, since you will end up transferring the sweat and microbes that built up in your socks to your clean feet — making your feet just as dirty as they were before.

The best socks for athlete’s foot are those made with natural fibers like cotton, since they encourage your feet to breathe and prevent them from becoming hot and sweaty.

Using Foot Powder to Prevent Athlete’s Foot

Foot powder can be an effective addition to your foot care routine. You should apply a small amount to your feet after washing and drying them. Specially formulated athlete’s foot powder like Silka Ⓡ Powder Miconazole helps prevent smelly feet, excess sweat, and fungus growth by absorbing excess moisture and targeting fungus with anti fungal ingredients.

If you don’t like the idea of applying powder because of the mess, try Silka Ⓡ Liquid Powder. It’s simple to apply since it's a cream, but it dries to a powder in seconds once applied. It is also a lot easier to apply to those hard to reach areas like the spaces between your toes.

How to Get Rid of Athlete’s Foot

If you already have the telltale signs of athlete’s foot that include itching, burning, and peeling red skin, and are sure that you have athlete's foot — it’s best to start athlete’s foot treatment fast to prevent it from getting worse or spreading to other parts of the body.

The fungal foot infection is easy to treat when you stick to a thorough and consistent treatment plan.

For a proven treatment method, try Silka Ⓡ Antifungal Cream with terbinafine as the active ingredient. The cream starts working immediately and fights athlete’s foot with just a 7 day treatment period.

For more details on treating athlete’s foot, check out our detailed blog post.

Take care!