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

Updated on January 16, 2009
A.K. asks from Clinton, MT
16 answers

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!

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C.J.

answers from Provo on

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

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B.H.

answers from Denver on

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.

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J.R.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Toddler?! How about a newborn??? And they share it! I never had it my life and then I got it from my newborn. I had no idea what it was, and we were hanging out with some friends one evening. One of them happened to be a coach at the local college and he noticed my little baby's foot and asked me about it. I said I had no idea, and he told me it looked like athlete's foot. As soon as I treated in w/OTC meds, it cleared right up. But, now that he is older, he stills gets it and he has stinky feet sometimes...We have found tea tree oil to be very helpful. Good Luck, but I wouldn't be above resorting to lotrimin or some other OTC just to give her relief ASAP....

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K.M.

answers from Billings on

After fighting foot fungus for years, my dad heard of a cure that he loves... Vick's Vapor Rub. He puts it on clean dry feet at night before bed and has the nicest feet he's had in years. Good luck!

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M.D.

answers from Denver on

Athlete's foot is a fungus issue. VERY stubborn.

The first thing I would do is get your daughter (and your husband) on a very high quality probiotic (you can get then at any natural food store).

Fungus is everywhere, and a natural part of living on our planet. But tends to get out of control when our internal immunity to it is run down. And that comes directly from intestinal health.

The second thing you need to do is treat it topically. Be VERY careful about putting an over the drug store counter anti-fungal on it. Those things are very powerful and full of very dangerous chemicals. NOT something you want on your toddler.

Many of our customers have had great success using our Skin Healer. It is all natural and completely safe.

www.MARImagic.com

You're welcome to contact me off list, if you have any more questions.

Blessings,

M.

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M.C.

answers from Denver on

Hi,

When my son was a new born, he also got it. However, the dr. told me it was just from not drying his feet off when we bathed him. It went on for quite sometime and after taking him to a new dr. it turned out to be athlete's foot. We treated it with otc meds as well.

Good luck to you!

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J.B.

answers from Pocatello on

be sure that it is athlete's foot and not eczema. all three of my daughters have eczema and my middle daughter gets it every winter on her feet of all places. it is red, scaly and itchy. we use a prescribed ointment from the doctor, but aquaphor also does wonders for it. she puts either cream on at night and wears socks to bed. it is definitely worth giving a try!

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J.N.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Check out WebMD. I was researching when my 5-year-old had ringworm (same fungus as athletes foot). I can't remember exactly what, but it seems that it mentioned some natural remedies. You also can double-check the symptoms to make sure that it really is athletes foot. If in doubt, call the doctor. You don't want to treat her for the wrong thing.

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B.H.

answers from Pueblo on

I agree to always try the natural remedies first, however, in our case we didn't find one that worked. Our 3 year old daughter had athlete's foot about a year ago and it took a couple of different perscription ointments (after trying several natural remedies AND over the counter ointments). I would suggest taking her to the doctor to make sure you are dealing with athletes foot before starting any kind of treatment. Good luck!! It seemed to take MONTHS to clear up completely (and now I am like the athlete's foot police--always paranoid and checking feet!).

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L.W.

answers from Colorado Springs on

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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S.S.

answers from Provo on

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

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M.S.

answers from Salt Lake City on

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.

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K.L.

answers from Great Falls on

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!

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S.R.

answers from Denver on

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

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L.D.

answers from Dallas on

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!

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C.C.

answers from Denver on

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.

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