Athlete’s foot is caused by a fungal infection of one or both feet.
Everyone has bacteria and fungi on their skin. Most of the time they are harmless and do not cause problems.
However, at certain times – for example in moist, warm conditions – the fungi can grow and multiply, causing your skin to become infected.
What are fungi?
Fungi are organisms that are similar to plants. They feed off broken-down tissue, including human tissue. Unlike plants, they cannot produce food using energy from sunlight (photosynthesis).
Athlete’s foot is caused by a group of fungi called dermatophytes. Dermatophytes are parasitic, which means they feed off other organisms to survive. Your feet provide a warm, dark and humid environment, ideal conditions for dermatophytes to grow.
Dermatophytes can cause fungal infections to develop in areas such as the outer layers of the skin, nails, scalp and hair.
Many other types of fungi can cause various infections. However, the main groups that cause fungal infections such as athlete’s foot are:
- dermatophytes (tinea)
- yeasts (candida)
- moulds
How it spreads
Athlete’s foot is very contagious and can be spread through direct and indirect contact:
- Direct contact – this involves skin-to-skin contact. For example, someone may become infected if they touch the affected area of your skin and do not wash their hands afterwards.
- Indirect contact – this is where the fungi can be passed on through contaminated objects such as towels, bed sheets and clothing.
Communal showers, swimming pools and changing rooms are common places where athlete's foot is spread. Like your feet, these places are usually warm and humid, which encourages bacteria and fungi to multiply.
There are several things you can do to prevent athlete's foot spreading. Read more about preventing athlete's foot.
