I'm a barefoot girl. Shoes are the first thing I remove when I want to get comfortable. Last week I paid the price when, while visiting my mother, I jammed my little toe so badly it was dislodged at an almost 90 degree angle from my foot. Tending to it got me distracted from the star gazing pain, but while taping the appendage back in place I realized that the skin between my toes was flaky. I realized I might have a case of athlete's foot.

Athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is a fungus that grows on and between toes and on the sole of the foot. This communicable disease is usually acquired when you go barefoot in warm, moist environments that support the fungus' growth. Public showers or swimming pools are the most likely place where you can step on the contaminated skin of another person's foot. Damp socks and shoes worn long after a workout are also a great breeding ground for the fungus.

Symptoms of athlete's foot include intense itching of the feet, cracked or blistered skin, or peeling of the skin, especially between the toes. Redness or scaling on the soles of the feet can also occur.

The best way to prevent athlete's foot is by keeping your feet clean and dry. Here are other suggestions.

• Wash and thoroughly dry your feet every day.
• Wear a clean pair of socks after you bathe or shower.
• If you use public pools or showers, wear thongs or sandals to prevent exposure to contaminated floors.
• Wear leather shoes that "breathe" (rather than vinyl that make feet sweat).
• When you work out, wear cotton socks to absorb sweat.
• Give your shoes a break between wearings to air and dry out.
• Use foot powders to keep feet dry.

As it turns out I might have a damaged athlete's foot but I didn't have the tinea pedis fungus. I heard mother say, "That's what you get (for not wearing shoes)," and "What dance career?" and discovered the taping job only displaced the inevitable black and blue to the rest of my foot. Believing life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent attitude, instead of bemoaning missing leading my class through our dance steps I'm celebrating my cross training lifestyle that will get me through the next few weeks-on my bike!