Ugg boots ‘can cause fungal infections’
By ANITuesday, January 11, 2011
NEW YORK - Uggs-the trendy, flat-booted suede boots which are popular among celebs and comfort-craving pedestrians-can increase your chances of getting fungal, infection especially if you wear them without socks.
A fungal infection can result from any shoe that doesn’t “breathe,” said Mitchell Greenbaum, chief of podiatry at St. Francis Hospital.
“There are a lot of boots that create warmth but make your feet sweat,” she said. And, without socks, there’s nothing to absorb the sweat.
“It can definitely be a breeding ground for fungus,” the New York Daily News quoted Greenbaum as saying.
Meanwhile, Olivier Zong, of surgery at NYC Footcare, told Fashionista.com, “Fungus breeds in dark, wet environments-conditions that are usually seen inside trendy sheepskin boots.”
Gregg Cohen, attending physician at Long Island College Hospital, said that if you notice redness, scaling, itching in the feet, skin changes such as blisters, and cracks between the toes then something is wrong.
Wearing socks, airing out the feet periodically by removing the sheepskin boots, and using a powder on your feet to keep them dry can all lessen the risk of a fungal infection, added Cohen. (ANI)
