Best Ways for Athletes to Avoid Fungal Infections

It isn’t hard to see why fungal infections are particularly common among athletes. Since many types of fungal infections are tied to sweat buildup and moisture, it’s only natural that people who are athletically active would have a high risk of developing them. Of course, this isn’t to say that athletes need to accept foot fungus, jock itch, and other fungal infections as inevitable. As you’ll find, avoiding fungal infections is fairly easy – regardless of how much physical activity you engage in.

Take Post-Workout Showers

A good shower is among the most effective ways to rid your skin of excess sweat. So, after completing a workout or engaging in any other activity that involves copious sweating, take care to shower at your earliest possible convenience. The longer you wait to shower, the longer all the sweat you produced during your workout will remain on your body – and the more time it will have to bring about fungal infection.

If you’re unable to shower immediately after a workout, make sure to at least change out of your sweat-soaked exercise clothes and towel off any sweat that’s on your body. Wearing sweaty activewear for extended periods not only increases your odds of developing a fungal infection, it can also facilitate terrible body odor – which the people in your range of smell are unlike to appreciate.

When showering, take care to devote special focus to the areas of your body that are most prone to fungal infections. For example, your groin area – which is a prime spot for jock itch – should be thoroughly scrubbed. Similarly, you’ll need to wash your feet and pay special attention to the spaces between your toes, as these are where athlete’s foot commonly forms. Furthermore, once you’re done with your shower, you’ll need to dry yourself as thoroughly as possible to get rid of any residual moisture.

Protect Your Feet

Although athlete’s foot commonly forms as a result of sweat and moisture buildup, it can also be caught from others. As such, you should be very selective about the areas in which you go barefoot. For example, being barefoot in a gym, gym shower or locker room is likely to expose your feet to all kinds of bacteria and assorted filth. Additionally, if anyone afflicted with athlete’s foot happened to stroll through, you’re liable to pick up foot fungus, as well.

With this in mind, make sure to don a pair of protective footwear whenever you’re in an area in which people are often barefoot. Furthermore, if you cohabitate with anyone who’s battling athlete’s foot, take care to always wear protective socks, and encourage the party in question to avoid walking around barefoot until such time as their feet are fungus-free. (Of course, should you ever come down with athlete’s foot, you’ll need to pay them the same courtesy.)

Never Wear Unwashed Activewear

You should always avoid wearing activewear that hasn’t been properly washed. Given how much sweat and bacteria most activewear accumulates, there are zero benefits to donning workout clothes that haven’t been laundered.So, no matter how much you dislike doing laundry or how few pieces of activewear you own, you should even consider putting unwashed exercise clothes back on your body. Additionally, in the interest of maximum safety, consider investing in cutting-edge antimicrobial activewear.

Don’t Share Personal Items

Even if you’ve grown accustomed to sharing personal items with friends and/or family members, it’s in your best interest to stop doing so on the double. Sharing towels, clothing, hats, footwear, and other personal items can result in fungal infections, as well as a host of other health issues. So, even if you’ve shared personal items in the past without experiencing any consequences, consider yourself lucky – and realize that this luck is unlikely to last forever.

Most athletes are no strangers to fungal infections. Given how conducive excessive sweating can be to the formation of certain infections, there’s little wonder as to why so many athletes are constantly contending with them. Still, this doesn’t mean that physically active individuals should simply sit back and accept fungal infections as an inescapable part of life. These infections are easier to avoid than many athletes think – especially for people who are equipped with the helpful pointers discussed above.

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