This is long but very IMPORTANT info. Don�t treat your athletes foot with anything except antifungal medication until you have been had a skin test by a dr. The reason behind this suggestion is that what you might think is athlete�s foot, may not be at all. It could very well be eczema, and other home remedies like: Clorox water, Lysol spray, Listerine, etc. will make eczema worse! I know very well how that plays out because I suffered and fought with what I thought was athlete�s foot for one year. I think that taking some time to read my story would be of tremendous benefit to all who have been suffering for a long time. Started last July. 1st dr. said it was so bad that only Lamisil tablets would work. Took them for 3 months. Only got worse. Went to another dr. who said I didn�t take the tablets long enough so gave me more for another 3 months. Only got worse. Started treating it myself from suggestions I got on natural health forums: tea tree oil, vinegar, salt water, Lysol spray, bleach water, together with antifungal creams and sprays. Only got worse until I started using coconut oil at night. Still not better though. Tried another dr. who said it wasn�t fungus at all, but eczema. Gave me some dermovate cream, as well as cetaphil for hydrating. Started to heal in 3 days. Has been 2 weeks now and almost gone. Dr. said coconut oil very good as well as olive oil. Can�t believe 2 other drs treated me for a fungal infection for one year without reconsidering what it really might be. By the way, mine was caused by stress. Bottom line is you are treating what you think is a fungal infection, and it doesn�t get better in a reasonable amount of time, then find another dr. And sometimes fungal home remedies can make another condition worse! Hope this helps.

Wow, thanks Brenda, I never would have thought of that! I will definitely check it out at the pet store, as my experiments with it really helped, particularly in keeping my tomatoes from getting that blossom end rot you get when the moisture level is so inconsistent. If I can get it less expensively, I can use it in all my pots and have to struggle less with keeping up with watering. ksrogers, I wonder if that is why the tarragon in the stores around here is so bland? When I lived in the Bay Area, I used to buy it at my favorite produce market and it was simply wonderful, but ever since moving to the valley, it tastes little better than grass that was maybe grown next to tarragon. It's funny, one doesn't think of herbs as having different cultivars, but I have two pots of marjoram, and they bear only slight resemblance to each other. I bought a kumquat and a bare root nectarine the other day. The gal at the nursery told me to top the nectarine right above 4 "limbs" (twigs, more like) as soon as I planted it, but I chickened out, so it's in a nice pot, untopped at the moment. I was screwing up my courage to do it today, but a storm came in and it's been too wet and icky to do anything in the yard. I know I have to do it, but it seems such a brutal thing to do to a new "baby" I just brought home. My daffodils are starting to bloom and I put in some primroses the other day, so the yard isn't looking quite as winter-bleak. But, the green beans I planted indoors in pots on the 10th sprouted, and then mysteriously grew no leaves. Finally, I dug one up and have deduced that the plants succumbed to the craving for fresh greens in my one indoor-only cat. Grumble. So, now I have dug up a pot full of sprouting bird seed from under the feeder to do duty as kitty-salad, and must start over again with the green beans.

Allergies. I took in a stray 13 years ago and spent $2000 getting him healthy. Itching all the time, scared, needed his teeth pulled, blah. blah. Allergy testing showed he was allergic to everything. Grass, pollen, mold, human hair ... all sorts of crazy stuff. Tried the prednisone (weight gain, peeing, etc.) -- then the daily allergy shots (scared him to death). After 6 mos. I took him off everything he was much much better. Vet thought it was because he "acclimated" to his new home. He still itches occassionally but gets massages and lots of brushing. I clean his feet any time he goes outside. Anyway ... could be spring allergies ... could be something in the house ... could be outside ... could be something he's breathing ... could be food, etc. All I know is itching is usually allergy related. Does he shed alot? and ... Is there anything new in his surroundings?

Sheesh! (long post warning) :-) Most of flat-feet issues are hereditary I guess. Some people are just more prone to it. I've always had pretty flat feet. And most of my working life, 35+ years, has been on my feet....LOTS of walking on hard floors. Before that.... growing-up farming! I hear from SO many people now that tell me how hard "Retail" careers can be on feet. If I had an office job/career, I may never have had any trouble! For ME, my foot started to hurt more in May. In late April, I had just underwent the Rotator-Cuff surgery....sling for 6 weeks, etc.!!! By July, I was limping some. Went to Podiatrist in July(?). Got the custom shoe inserts....then the brace..... In early Oct, I'd had enough. So we scheduled the surgery for Nov 2nd. Turns out, there was a tendon near bottom of foot that had ruptured too! The PTT, Posterior-Tibial-Tendon. When an arch "collapses", the bones on top of foot, in front of the ankle, have to be "fused", usually by screws. This raises-up the arch. The foot usually has to be turned more straight-ahead too, hence the longer screw up through my heel. Because of the curved nature of the upper bones, the feet turn outward when arches start collapsing. Obviously, there's tons of y/t vids on the subject.... Faron