Marti

Usually, this problem is always diagnosed as Athletes Foot, but that is actually caused by a fungus, as is his problem with his toenails. My husband has something similar to this and it is actually caused by a YEAST infection. My husbands dermatologist has prescribed Lotrisone ointment, and it works great!

Yeast and fungus are caused by two different spores and can only be diagnosed by taking a skin scraping and growing the yeast/fungus in a petri dish to determine the strain of organism that has invaded the skin/nails. If the doctor has not done this, you might want to see a dermatologist for this type of diagnosis.

Yes, it can be 'caught' by anyone in the family if your husband goes barefoot in the house/shower. You might want to consider purchasing some shower shoes for him to wear when in the shower. You might also want to wear socks in the house yourself to prevent you getting the problem. Yeast and fungus can live on hard surfaces that are 'contaminated', so unless you intend to immediately disinfect everything your husbands feet come in contact with, he needs to protect his feet at all times.

Also, yeast and fungus can live in the leather/lining of the shoes he/she wear if they wear the same shoes on a daily basis. One shouldn't wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row due to the perspiration given off by the feet that stays in the shoes for a long time. It is the dead skin cells and perspiration that allow the spores to live, breed, and grow into a colony.

Yes, it is possible to get this on your hands, or any other part of your skin. Get him to a realy good dermatologist and have his skin and toenails cultured for fungus/yeast.