DIY Athlete's Foot Treatment

My husband suffers from an extreme case of Athlete's Foot. If you're anything like my stubborn strong-willed husband, you use a new cream or spray for a few days (until someone stops reminding you) but not long enough to have any lasting effect. Then, you're back to using the carpet on the stairs or in front of your favorite chair as your "scratching post".  My latest discovery is that he stretches a sock, one end in each hand, to scratch between his toes, leaving the sock twice the length that it was to begin with.

A few weeks ago, my toes started to itch.  So, we're trying something new and getting rid of this stuff!  No more expensive creams and sprays that sit, forgotten, in the medicine cabinet until they expire.  We're trying a home-remedy.  Vinegar is my fallback for everything.  You can find websites that list hundreds of uses for vinegar.  I buy white vinegar at Walmart in the biggest jug they have for less than $3, and I use it for everything.

I remember my dad sometimes adding vinegar to a foot soak to soften dry skin.  So, I thought, why not?  If it softens skin, it has to help with the dry skin caused by Athlete's Foot.



Foot Soak Recipe (credit owed to my dad):
Add enough vinegar to a dish tub or large rectangle container to fill it 1-inch.
Add hot water to cover your feet.
Soak for 15 minutes.
After soaking, scrub off any dead skin with a pumice stone or an old towel.
Rinse feet well.

Note:  I've used both apple cider vinegar and white vinegar to soak my feet.  For the Athlete's Feet treatment we're using white vinegar, because it seems to be more common in "cleaning/disinfecting" recipes.  


The best part:  After one soak, DH asked to have another!  Almost every night since the first he's asked me to make him another soak.  Now, he's reminding me!  He says his feet feel great after the soaks, and I haven't found any stretched out socks laying around... :)