[Click! Health] Summer's Unwelcome Guest 'Muzom'... How to Manage It

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[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] There is an unwelcome visitor that comes to the feet during the hot and humid summer season. It is athlete's foot (tinea pedis). Since high temperature and humidity create an environment conducive to athlete's foot, it is important to pay attention to foot care as the weather gets warmer.

The number of athlete's foot patients begins to increase from May when the weather warms up, peaks during the summer, and then decreases again. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of athlete's foot (tinea pedis) patients has surged during the summer months (June to August) over the past three years (2018?2020). Specifically, 399,669 (38.3%), 381,394 (36.5%), and 370,253 (37.2%) patients were diagnosed with athlete's foot during the summer seasons of each respective year.

Athlete's foot mainly affects the elderly and people in their 20s to 40s, and is rare in young children. Clinically, it is classified into interdigital type, vesicular type, and hyperkeratotic type. The interdigital type is the most common and usually appears between the toes. The vesicular type presents with scattered vesicles on the soles or sides of the feet, which may merge to form various sizes and shapes. Sweating in summer worsens the condition, and itching intensifies when blisters form. The hyperkeratotic type involves thickening of the normal skin color keratin across the entire sole, and when scratched, fine powder-like flakes fall off. This type is chronic, difficult to treat, and has few subjective symptoms.

These three types are often difficult to distinguish clearly and may appear in combination. Especially, the interdigital and vesicular types can cause severe itching leading to inflammation or secondary infections due to scratching.

Athlete's foot is the most common tinea in Korea, accounting for 30?40% of all tinea cases. It is caused by dermatophytes. Among the approximately 40 known species of dermatophytes worldwide, 'T. rubrum (Trichophyton rubrum)' is the most common cause.

Since fungi are the cause, the most basic treatment is the application of antifungal agents. However, if inflammation or secondary infection occurs due to severe scratching in interdigital or vesicular types, these must be treated first before antifungal therapy. For the hyperkeratotic type, which involves thickened keratin layers, it is important to use keratolytic agents to remove the keratin.

If symptoms do not improve with topical antifungal agents, oral antifungal medication should be taken. Although oral antifungals used to have concerns such as liver toxicity, nowadays anyone without specific liver problems can take them. Some people use folk remedies like soaking feet in vinegar, but this is dangerous and should never be done.

Even if athlete's foot is completely cured, one should not be careless. Fungal infections have a high chance of recurrence. After treatment, always keep feet clean and dry with good ventilation. Frequently changing shoes to prevent moisture buildup inside them also helps prevent recurrence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.