What is the Difference Between Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot

The key difference between jock itch and athlete’s foot is that jock itch is a fungal skin infection caused by Tinea cruris, while athlete’s foot is a fungal skin infection caused by Tinea pedis.

Jock itch and athlete’s foot are two different types of fungal skin infections caused by different Tenia species. These fungal skin infections are normally not life-threatening and can be treated through antifungal oral or topical medications.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Jock Itch 
3. What is Athlete’s Foot
4. Similarities – Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot
5. Jock Itch vs Athlete’s Foot in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot

What is Jock Itch?

Jock itch is a fungal skin infection that causes red and itchy rashes in warm and moist areas of the human body. A fungus called Tinea cruris is the causative agent of Jock itch. The symptoms of this condition are a reddened area of the skin that begins in the crease of the groin, a reddened area that spreads to the upper thigh and becomes a half moon shaped, a rash that may be ring-shaped and boarded with small blisters, itchiness, flakiness, or scaliness in the skin. The risk factors for jock itch may include sex (male), teenagers and younger people, wearing tight underwear, being overweight, sweating heavily, having weakened immunity, and diabetes.

Moreover, jock itch can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and skin scrapings or samples from the infected area for study under a microscope. Treatment options for jock itch may include over-the-counter antifungal ointment, lotion, powder, or spray for mild jock itch or prescription-strength creams, ointments, and pills for severe jock itch.

What is Athlete’s Foot?

An athlete’s foot is a fungal skin infection that normally begins between the toes. This condition can be commonly observed in people whose feet have become very sweaty and people who wear tight-fitting shoes. It is caused by a fungus called Tinea pedis. The symptoms of this condition may include scaly, peeling, or cracked skin between toes, itchiness after taking off shoes and socks, inflamed skin that appears reddish, purplish, or grayish, burning or stinging sensation, blisters, dry, scaly skin on the bottom of the foot that usually extends upsides. The risk factors that increase the chances of having athlete’s foot include frequently wearing enclosed footwear, sweating heavily, using any material of someone who previously had a fungal infection such as share mats, rugs, bed linens, clothes or shoes, and walking barefoot in public areas like locker rooms, saunas, swimming pools, communal baths, and showers.

Athlete’s foot can be diagnosed through physical examination and skin scrapings from the affected area for testing in a laboratory. Furthermore, treatment options for athlete’s foot include a prescription for strength cream ointments such as clotrimazole, econazole, ciclopirox, or antifungal pills such as terbinafine and itraconazole.

What are the Similarities Between Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot?

• Jock itch and athlete’s foot are two different types of fungal skin infections.
• Both these fungal skin infections are caused by different Tenia
• They are normally not life-threatening.
• Both these fungal skin infections may have similar symptoms, such as reddened areas in the skin, skin flaking and scraping, blisters, etc.
• Both these fungal skin infections can be diagnosed through physical examination and skin biopsy.
• They are treated through antifungal oral or topical medications.

What is the Difference Between Jock Itch and Athlete’s Foot?

Jock itch is a fungal skin infection caused by Tinea cruris, while athlete’s foot is a fungal skin infection caused by Tinea pedis. Thus, this is the key difference between jock itch and athlete’s foot. Furthermore, the risk factors for jock itch may include sex (male), teenager and younger people, wearing tight underwear, being overweight, sweating heavily, having weakened immunity, and having diabetes. On the other hand, the risk factors for athlete’s foot may include frequently wearing enclosed footwear, sweating heavily, and using any material of someone who previously had fungal infections, such as share mats, rugs, bed linens, clothes, or shoes, and walking barefoot in public areas like locker rooms, saunas, swimming pools, communal baths, and showers.

The below infographic presents the differences between jock itch and athlete’s foot in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Jock Itch vs Athlete’s Foot

Jock itch and athlete’s foot are two different types of fungal skin infections. Both these fungal skin infections are caused by different Tenia species. Moreover, both these fungal skin infections may have similar symptoms, such as reddened areas in the skin, skin flaking, scraping, blisters, etc. However, jock itch is caused by Tinea cruris, while athlete’s foot is caused by Tinea pedis. So, this is the key difference between jock itch and athlete’s foot.

Reference:

1. “Jock Itch.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Ahletes Foot.” NHS Choices, NHS.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Jock itch” By Gerardolagunes – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Athlete’s Foot” By Teresa Trimm (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr