There are hundreds of different fungus species among us and nearly all take up residence on our feet. Scary isn’t it?

The worst part is no matter how clean your feet seem, our feet are constantly in contact with bacteria and microorganisms and these bacteria can possibly form an unwanted disease in your feet. However, cleanliness might not be the only factor you can do to avoid these diseases to develop. Immune systems in the body also play a significant role in preventing these diseases at bay.

Here, we have compiled 5 diseases that may be caused by specific fungi and bacteria that can potentially target your feet, so take a deep breath because you might never skip your daily shower and vitamin after reading this article.

No, Jiggers do not look like that. In fact, jiggers can cause such a pretty graphic-looking foot, so we are aware we can't show you here. Jiggers is an infectious disease caused by the female ectoparasitic insect or also known as the sand flea or chigoe flea. This disease can cause intense itching, followed by inflammation and acute pain. Sounds like a nightmare right? But the scary part doesn’t stop there. For more details, this disease is caused by tiny insects burrow into the skin and laying their eggs in there. The worse part is, the disease is easily spread among people especially the poor living in a low unsanitary environment.

These jigger insects can be found in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world: India, the Caribbean, Central, and South America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Therefore, if you live outside those areas, you do not have to worry about getting infected with these little monsters. But still, the best prevention is to wear proper shoes whenever you go especially if you are participating in outdoor activities in those areas.

Next, you will find out why living in a developed country still making you at risk of contracting these certain foot diseases.

If you have noticed a strange-looking ugly bump and tend to be painful on the bottom of your feet it might be plantar warts. Plantar warts can be caused by the papillomavirus or HPV which enters through tiny cuts or weak spots on the bottom of your feet.

Swimming pools and humid locker rooms floors are the ideal breeding grounds for this HPV virus. This disease is easy to spot because of its distinctive look, usually, plantar warts have a circular flat spot on the skin that may appear yellowed with a crust and have a black spot in the middle.

In most cases, you won’t need medical treatment to treat these warts because these warts will resolve naturally on their own. But if plantar warts interrupt your day-to-day activities, you may be able to get rid of this by using over-the-counter medications such as salicylic acid cream or liquid nitrogen.

Next, you will see how being barefoot in public pools can make your feet more likely to catch this fungus

Compared to the previous one such as jigger, this one may not seem as extreme but still athlete foot can also be painful and irritating. If you don’t know what an athlete’s foot is, it’s a fungal infection that usually appears between toes.
It’s commonly known that an athlete's foot is caused by the tinea fungus which grows on the feet. However, how does this fungus spread? Basically, this fungus can be carried via contaminated floors, clothing, or any other items that are shared together. Therefore, be careful to use shared items with friends and family.

Symptoms of an athlete’s foot can include a red or pink rash that causes itching, stinging, and burning between toes. In order to cure athlete’s foot, you can either use over-the-counter drugs or just rub rubbing alcohol on the infected area to kill the fungus. Normally, an athlete’s foot can be cured fully within 2 weeks, but severe cases may take several weeks or even longer.

In the next section, you will see why trimming your toenail precisely will help you avoid getting this disease.

Unlike several foot conditions above, ingrown toenail does not just hurt but is also aesthetically unpleasant. The ingrown toenail occurs when the nail grows into the soft flesh at the corner or side of the toe. These problems can be caused by cutting toenails too short, wearing shoes that squeeze your toenails, and having unusually curved toenails.

The symptoms of ingrown toenails may begin with redness and swelling around the toenail followed by bacterial infection if you don’t treat it right away. it’s very important to treat ingrown toenails as soon as they appear. There are several simple home remedies that can be used to treat ingrown toenails such as; soak your feet in warm soapy water or apply antibiotic ointment. In order to prevent this condition from recurrence, we really recommend you wearing comfortable shoes, socks, or a toe cap if necessary.

Next, you will see why changing your socks daily will protect your feet from developing fungal nails.

You might be familiar with this one, fungal nail is a condition in which the fungus that normally lives in your fingernails and toenails overgrows.

Fungal nails are typically caused by a fungus that lives in moist and wet areas of your nails. In order to differentiate fungal nails from other nail conditions, the symptoms usually begin with thickening, yellowish, and crumbly looking nails at the edge.
People with weak immune systems are very likely to contact this fungal nail infection especially elderly people, people who suffer from diabetes, aids, and other diseases that affect the immune system. You can easily cure this fungal nail condition by taking antifungal drugs orally or simply treating the infected nails with medicated nail polish.
To avoid contracting the disease above you should keep your body and environment clean, avoid using shared items directly on your skin, and don't forget to follow a healthy lifestyle.