Foot fungus

Q: I've been trying to get rid of a fungal infection on my foot, but with no luck. My doctor will want to give me a prescription--is there anything I might not have thought of that I can try first? Dr. Wright: For this one, I'm going to turn things over to my trusted colleague Kerry Bone: Numerous studies have shown that local application of tea tree oil can be very effective against fungal infections of both the nails and skin. In one double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, 117 patients with toenail fungus used either tea tree oil or a solution containing one percent of the antifungal drug clotrimazole twice a day for six months. At the end of the trial the tea-tree-oil group experienced relief just as significant as the clotrimazole group. In another double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 104 patients with a fungal infection of the foot called tinea pedis used either a solution containing 10-percent tea tree oil, one containing one percent of the antifungal medication tolnaftate, or a placebo cream. Both the tea-tree-oil group and the tolnaftate group showed clinical improvement in symptoms such as scaling, inflammation, itching, and burning compared to participants in the control group.