Soaking feet in hot water does not help cure athlete’s foot, and people with the condition should consult a doctor or a pharmacist, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.
Many popular remedies for athlete’s foot do more harm than good, the agency said, citing an article written by dermatologist Yang Li-chang (楊麗珍) in Food and Drugs Weekly.
Putting the afflicted foot in hot water or rubbing it with salt water, vinegar, petroleum jelly, toothpaste, ginger or other substances are some of the ineffective folk remedies being circulated on the Internet, Yang said.
As athlete’s foot is a fungal infection, and fungi thrive in hot and humid conditions, hot water can make the condition worse, she said.
Vinegar is an irritant that could kill the infected skin and expose the flesh beneath, which then leads to ulcers or cellulitis of the foot, she said.
Petroleum jelly is a treatment for winter eczema, but using it as a foot ointment would only create an ideal environment for the fungus, Yang added.
Other remedies for athlete’s foot that have not been tested by science are not likely to work and could be harmful to people’s health, she said.
People with athlete’s food should consult a dermatologist or a pharmacist and then purchase an FDA-approved drug, she said, adding that the instruction insert that comes with a medicine should be followed when applying it.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS