You love wearing your boat shoes, moccasins, or slip-ons without out socks right? But you're constantly experiencing itchy, dry, red conditions between your toes and on the soles of your feet. Athlete's foot is a common side affect of wearing these types of shoes without socks. These types of footwear often have limited to no air flow coming and going from the inside and out which can create a perfect environment for athlete's foot. As your foot sweats and remains compressed by materials such as leather, suede, and cloth, it creates ideal habitat for fungi to form and spread.

There are ways to reduce the likelihood of athlete's foot in moccasins, boat shoes, and slip-ons.

  1. Consistently wash your feet. Surprisingly, many people do not scrub their toes and feet with soap when they shower. Proper hygiene is key for preventing athlete's foot.

  2. When not using your shoes, place them in hot, open sunlight. The sun can kill microbes, dry out any sweat moisture caught within the shoe materials, and can air-out any bad smells.

  3. Anti-bacterial and anti-microbial shoe sprays work well for cleaning out your slippers when the sun is not available. These sprays are available over-the-counter at most pharmacies.

  4. Wear clean socks. Although it may seem like a fashion “faux pas” to wear socks with slip-ons or moccasins, wearing a clean pair of socks can help prevent athlete's foot. This technique works even better if socks are changed twice each day.

  5. Know when it's time to get new shoes. Many people love their moccasins and boat shoes to the point where it may be hard to part with them. Using beat-up, dirty, old shoes can be a breeding ground for all sorts of terrible fungal and bacterial microbes that sprays and topical lotions cannot kill. Make sure you get new shoes on a regular basis.

If you suffer from athlete's foot and have more questions about treatment, talk to the athlete's foot specialists at Healthmark Foot and Ankle Associates.