In vietnam - Athletes foot - help me please??

[celavie]

Hi im living in Vietnam currenty. My feet are very swollen, sore, dry, scaly and tearing making cuts. It's been progressively getting worse. I work 12 hrs 7 days a week standing so it's intorelable now. I've never had atheletes foot before or seen it but this is what appears so. The language barrier is tough but I ended up buying fluconazol. This is my 3rd day of taking 1 a day. Is this correct?????

[silverfox67]

When my Dad was in the Army, we were stationed in Greece for over 3 years.  We didn't know the language and it was tough learning how to communicate with people of so different a culture.  I can't imagine how it must be for you!  Such a culture shock, I'm sure.  But, I'm sure you'll do fine there -  what a privilege to learn a new language and to live in such an exotic place.  Look for the positive and you will enjoy your stay/visit there.  There can be an interchange of encouragement between you and your new neighbors.  

[celavie]

Thank you so much!! It's been such a relief to hear comforting and helpful words from a fellow English speaker!

[silverfox67]

Since you are wearing heels everyday - I'm pretty sure numb toes would be the norm.  High heels have a tendency to cut off some circulation to the toes.  I am so glad that the doctors have been able to find something to help you with this problem!!  Yay!  So happy for you.  Hope you continue to get well!

[celavie]

Hi, I replied a while back but my comment doesn't seem to be there anymore. I got the pharmacist to give me different pills cos the old ones were doing nothing. Can't remember the name of these ones but they did very good. She gave me nizoral cream to put on my feet too. When I ran out of the pills she put me on ketoconazole and gave me more cream. These are making me progress slower, but I think it's getting there. It had spread all down my foot but now it's just my toes. The swelling has reduced somewhat and are no longer dry or sore and the cracks/cuts have almost healed but my toes are totally numb, is this normal? it's a bit weird. Cheers for the tip about zinc I'll defs give it a go, have not eaten anything really in the past month. Wearing high heels 12 hrs a day *****! Thanks for all your help you've been a star :)

[silverfox67]

Had another thought!  My mom and I both got athletes foot once and a toe nail infection.  She did nothing and had to have her nail cut off.  I took mega doses of Zinc and my fungal infection went away.  You might want to try taking some minerals... just a thought.

[silverfox67]

Do you have more than one pair of boots/shoes?  Try to wear dry socks and shoes.  We had a light bulb in the closet to keep our shoes dry when we were in Panama.  the more water you use or the more sweat, the dryer your skin - must be the salt.  Anyway, change your socks as often as you can and keep the gel on them at night.  - Are you getting any better?

[silverfox67]

I had it so long ago that I really can't say.  Sorry... I don't remember what pills I took.  If they don't work for you, perhaps you need to see the Dr.  Meanwhile you might want to eat fermented foods (like saurkraut or kimchie) and take probiotics to help you fight the infection.  Yogurt is also good for it.

[celavie]

I'm putting voltaren emugel on to help reduce the swelling and give a little temporary relief. The pills aren't seemin to do anything but give me a bit of a dodgy gut. It's relieving to hear you say it eventually goes away, but can anybody suggest what pills I should be taking for this? And at what dosage? Or should I take more than 1 a day of these fluconazols?

[silverfox67]

What are you putting on the cuts/tears?  I use Vicks for the dry skin and it seems to help.  I had that fungus on my feet when I lived in the tropics.  The Dr. prescribed an anti-fungal and I put Vicks  and socks on at night.  It took a while, but it finally got better.