The skin on your feet may itch for several reasons. It is not always possible to determine the source of itching on your own. It is easier to eliminate an unpleasant symptom if you know why the itchy feet appeared.
Practically every person experiences itchy skin from time to time. Itchy feet cause discomfort, nervousness and discomfort. The problem cannot be ignored for long. Finding out the causes of itching helps to quickly eliminate the unpleasant symptom.
A common symptom of many skin infections is itching. The sole, interdigital spaces, on the top of the feet begin to itch due to fungal, viral, parasitic or mixed diseases. Damaged skin can become susceptible to bacterial infections.
The most common cause of itching in the feet is fungal infections (mycoses). A dermatologist can determine the exact type of fungus. Based on laboratory data from the material extracted from the lesion, a diagnosis is made.
Along with itching, most mycoses are accompanied by burning, pain, and an unpleasant odor. Infected areas become wet, cracks appear on the soles, heels, under and between the toes. Pathogenic bacteria are often found on the affected part of the skin of the feet, which complicate treatment.
Several reasons contribute to the appearance and spread of fungal infection:
A person can become infected with a fungus in a swimming pool, shower, using someone else’s shoes, or during summer walks barefoot on the ground and grass. People with reduced immunity and patients with diabetes have a high risk of developing mycoses.
Scabies mites sometimes cause itching on the feet. Small nodular lesions and a rash in the area of the fingers may indicate a scabies infection. Infection occurs from a sick person.
Itching intensifies in the evening and at night. This is due to the life cycle of the scabies mite. The causes of itching with scabies are associated not only with the fact that the female mite is actively making passages in the skin. The waste products of parasites cause an allergic reaction.
If you find yourself with a spreading itchy rash, you need to go to a medical facility. If microscopic parasites are found in the scraping, the dermatologist will prescribe treatment for scabies.
On the soles and pads of the fingers, itching may be accompanied by the appearance of a rough growth. The papilloma virus, under favorable conditions (high humidity, lack of hygiene, decreased local immunity), causes the appearance of warts on the feet. At the beginning of the disease, a person is only bothered by itching. Further growth of the wart causes unbearable pain, especially when walking.
The causes of allergic itching on the feet are varied. Eating certain foods can cause redness, swelling, rashes, and itching of the skin. In addition, cosmetics, household chemicals, synthetic clothing, pet hair, and insect bites can cause itching on the feet, upper legs, as well as on the arms and face at the same time.
To avoid itching, peeling and inflammation of the skin, it is necessary to determine what the causes of the allergic reaction are. By avoiding the consumption of certain foods and contact with aggressive chemicals, you can prevent the development of allergies.
There are several other causes of itching in the feet. The skin on the legs may itch if there is a violation of the venous circulation. Varicose veins and swelling cause tingling, burning and itching.
The skin may itch due to hormone imbalance. Such situations arise during pregnancy, at the onset of menopause, and endocrine diseases. Sometimes the skin itches due to liver dysfunction or cholestasis.
To cope with itching in the feet, it is important to determine the causes of the problem. It is best to carry out treatment after consulting a doctor. Sometimes, when determining a diagnosis, it becomes necessary to visit several specialists.
Treatment of fungal skin lesions is carried out with special antimycotic agents. They are used externally by applying to the skin. In severe cases, treatment may be prescribed with drugs in the form of tablets or capsules to target the infection systemically.
If mycoses occur with complications, then combined ointments are used, which include antifungal components and antibiotics.
Special products will help get rid of scabies mites. Treatment is carried out under the supervision of a dermatologist, who checks the effectiveness of therapeutic measures over time. If necessary, additional treatment is prescribed. It is necessary to strictly follow the doctor's instructions, observing basic hygiene techniques.
Warts are usually treated with special products or techniques that soften them. After which the viral outgrowths are removed. Improving immunity, maintaining personal hygiene, and preventing excessive sweating of the feet will prevent the appearance of new warts on the soles.
To relieve itching due to allergies, antihistamines are prescribed during menopause, as well as ointments containing glucocorticoids. If your feet begin to itch due to changes in hormone levels or liver dysfunction, treatment will be aimed at eliminating the cause of the symptom. It is important to consult a doctor promptly.
Among the complaints with which people turn to doctors, one of the quite common ones is itching of the feet. This unpleasant symptom can appear in children, adults, men and women, in a person suffering from some serious illness, and against the background of seemingly complete health. Read below about the causes, features, treatment methods and prevention of itchy feet.
It should be understood that burning in itself is not a disease. It becomes only a consequence of certain ailments and disorders. Some of them are not particularly dangerous and can be easily eliminated, but it happens that itchy soles signal a serious pathology. Therefore, the symptom should never be ignored. There are several main causes of itchy feet.
Less common and more serious causes of itching of the lower extremities include:
Sometimes it happens that a person's feet itch for no apparent reason. There is no need to panic, you should just pay attention to cleaning products. You probably need to change your washing powder or buy different shoes.
Burning in the legs may have certain characteristics and accompanying symptoms, depending on the cause of the phenomenon. For example, if there is a fungus, then the feet will itch only in the affected areas. And this is usually the skin between the fingers. It usually turns red and lumps appear. Scratching it causes even more damage and can even cause infection.
In the case of an allergic reaction, the itching of the foot is usually accompanied by a burning sensation in other places. These are usually the palms, ears, nose. Other symptoms may also appear: headaches, nausea, swelling of the larynx.
With varicose veins, the lower limbs not only itch, but also swell. You feel heaviness and fatigue in your legs. It is also common for the skin on the feet to peel off.
Scabies, of course, is also not limited to itching of just the soles. It also affects the palms and skin of the abdomen. On the surface of the dermis you can see characteristic “paths” along which the tick moves. The burning sensation associated with this disease can be very strong and debilitating. It especially bothers a person when he is at rest - for example, at night. It is almost impossible to fall asleep while experiencing such itching.
Most people whose feet suddenly start to itch do not know what to do in this situation. Especially if this happens for the first time. The most correct decision is to consult a doctor and find out the reason. After all, it is she who needs to be treated, and not the itching itself, which is only a symptom. Traditional medicine knows many ways to combat burning sensation, but the nature of the therapy depends on why it arose.
At the initial stage, you can get by with topical medications. In more advanced cases, systemic remedies are prescribed. Among the most common medications for mycosis are: Nizoral, Mycoderil, Lamisil and other fungistatic and fungicidal drugs.
In cases of mechanical or thermal damage to the feet, antiseptics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and desensitizing agents are usually indicated. These are, for example, such ointments as the well-known “Rescuer” or “Soventol”, “Elidel”, as well as similar drugs. For insect bites, Fenistil-gel, Nezulin, and Bepanten will help relieve the burning sensation.
Itching caused by varicose veins requires treatment aimed at strengthening and toning the walls of blood vessels. It includes the use of Troxevasin ointment, Detralex, as well as physical therapy (electropuncture, magnetic therapy).
Allergic reactions are stopped with Lamizin, Loratadine, Aleron. A prerequisite for treating itching is to avoid the patient’s contact with the substance that caused the problem.
If itching in the feet is caused by endocrine diseases or pathologies of internal organs, the fight is waged against these ailments. As soon as the victory over them is won, the itching of your feet will stop.
To alleviate the patient’s condition, he is prescribed sedatives that will relieve nervousness and anxiety, help him relax and make the itching less debilitating. The use of medications of this kind is advisable in any case - it does not matter why exactly the burning sensation occurred.
It happens that it is not possible to immediately see a doctor, but the itching bothers you. Or a person knows his diagnosis and carries out treatment, but his feet continue to itch. The following traditional medicine methods will help relieve this unpleasant symptom:
To prevent itching, experts recommend:
The feeling of burning in the legs is familiar to many people. But not everyone rushes to visit the doctor after discovering it. Of course, sometimes the itching goes away on its own, which means that it was caused by some situational reasons (tired feet after a long day of work, shoes rubbed, stress). If a symptom disappeared without a trace literally the next day after it appeared and did not appear again, there is probably no need to worry. But in cases where the feet continue to itch for a long time, the itching intensifies, and is accompanied by other alarming signs, medical attention is necessary. The sooner it is provided, the better.