16 answers

Has Anyone Heard of a Toddler Getting Athlete's Foot?!

Hello! I love this site and the mothers who make it such a great resource! So here I am again...my two year old daughter appears to have athlete's foot. Her dad has been having problems with it, so I suppose it's common for it to spread, I'm just surprised to see it on my little girl! Her soles have red, scaly patches of dry skin and she says it hurts. I shy away from over-the counter medicines, especially for her. Does anyone have any great, natural home remedies they know of to help ease the symptoms and/or treat the infection? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

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So What Happened?™

Hi moms! Thank you so much for all the great advice. I did take my daughter to her pediatrician for an accurate diagnosis, and all he needed was two seconds to diagnose her. It wasn't athlete's foot OR eczema, but something he called plantar dermatitis(?) AKA "Sweaty Sock Syndrome". He recommended a 1% hydrocortisone cream when it was really bad, then lotion at night ( I use Arbonne's ABC baby lotion). And to let her run around barefoot as much as she wants (which is all the time!) Or to change her socks throughout the day when barefoot isn't an option. This is probably the same thing as her dad, and I'm glad to know the cause. :) Thanks again and hope this helps any other mothers out there!

Featured Answers

Dear A. K I have had my children soke there feet in clox water. About 1/2 cup in a pan of water.

Hope this helps !!!
C. J

My kids get it all the time from the silly cheap plastic shoes (summer sandal things). I just use a generic lotrim cream. Worked fine for us.

More Answers

Hi A. - there isnt a reason she cant get athelete's foot, especially if she wears the same shoes every day and someone else in the house has it. Its treated the same way for kids as adults. Most medications for treating AF are topical and do not enter the bloodstream. Call your pediatrician for their recommendation of medications.

I love natural remedies but they aren't always better - or safer. Tea tree oil (melaleuca) works for discouraging it from coming back but the odor is very strong and it can sting.

It sounds to me more like eczema than althele's foot. In my experience, athlete's foot is more wet and usually between the toes. It's a fungus, so it likes wet, dark places. I don't know about natural remedies, but I did recently learn (the hard way) that it's the same fungus as ring worm (which is not a worm!), so you can get one from the other. If it's eczema, it would need very different treatment. Even if you want to go natural, it might be worth getting a diagnosis so you at least know what you're fighting. Good luck!

Try soaking her feet (if she will let you) in epsom salt.

I've never heard of a toddler getting athlete's foot, but it's nice to know that it's out there so I can be prepared. I don't know of any remedies, but just a thought....you might want to check with your doctor and make sure it's not that foot/hand/mouth thing that toddlers get. I don't know exactly what it's called, but it's extremely contagious and daycares get breakouts of it all the time. I think it can be diguised as all sorts of other fungal infections, but spreads really easily. Hopefully it's just athlete's foot, but better safe than sorry....right? Good Luck!

Dear A. K I have had my children soke there feet in clox water. About 1/2 cup in a pan of water.

Hope this helps !!!
C. J

Never dealt with this but my daughter did have Hand Foot Mouth Disease, So maybe it would be good to just go to the doctor and check it out. Also on the Doctors show I think last week the pediatrician on there said that vinager it great for Athletes Foot. So maybe you could try that and see if it helps. Good Luck.

Tea tree! Non-harsh and very healing. PM me for a source of the best kind!

Try Tea Tree Essential Oil. You can get it at health food stores or I'm sure online. It's pretty inexpensive and worked for my son who's 11.

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