I would think frequently changing your socks and washing your feet w/ soap would take care of it, but dunno. We used to wear wet hiking boots and socks all day for weeks on end and we never had a problem w/ toe fungus.
But you're not my age. As T.I. would say, big $hit starts popping when you get my age.
Better than dead.
I "felt your pain." I, too, was (am) a victim of PF. As a matter of fact, I had it off and on for several years. I went through the "800mg Motrin" phase; the "shoe inserts" phase; the "physical therapy" phase; the "taping the foot" phase and in the end...the "cortisone shot in the heel" phase--3 times. Knock on wood, I haven't had a PF attack in a couple years--if I even start to "feel" any pain, I immediately take precautions (meds, ice, shoes, rest).
I warn you--catch it early and baby that foot back to health. Before you get up in the morning, or get up from a chair, stretch the muscles in your foot. Also, I found the best way to "ice" your heel is to fill a plastic (individual drink size) bottle with water, freeze it, and just roll it back and forth under your foot while sitting watching TV or at the computer. And I'll stress this one more time--stretch your foot by flexing it before you stand up or get out of bed.
Take it easy; PF can really make your life a b!tch!
Oh, and your question about what color of shoes to buy?.....Comfortable!
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I echo everything that Shelly said. Excellent advice!
I, too, have been plagued by PF. I had it in my right foot for about a year and then, when that finally healed, I got it in my left foot. I am a runner, so I was absolutely miserable. I had inserts (I called them my "implants"
Finally, I decided to try something new and I started yoga. I don't think I really knew what Yoga was (or is), but it turned out to be the best thing I have ever done. And best of all, it has cured my plantar fasciitis! I am convinced that it is the stretching that is required for all those positions - downward dog, warrior one, etc. - and the length of time you hold them during a yoga session (which, by the way, is waaayyy longer than I would do on my own) that has cured me. It's just way different than any other exercise I have ever done, and I am hooked. And it is soooo hard. What a workout!
I now run about 3 days a week and do yoga 2-3 times a week. No problems with my feet at all.
Oh, one other thing that helped.... I would walk about 2 miles (several times a week) on the "soft" sand of the beach barefooted. Not the hard sand next to the water, but the soft duneward sand. It helped stretch out the muscles in my feet. I read about this technique in a runner's magazine and since I live right by the beach, I thought I would give it a try. I do believe that it helped as well. But long barefoot walks on the hard sand next to the water?? Forget it. You will just KILL your foot doing that.
Otherwise, with regard to going barefoot, it is true that you just can't do that anymore. I got my original bout of PF after we renovated our house and I instituted a "no shoe" rule. I was constantly barefoot on hardwood floors, and because the house was new and fresh, I had renewed energy to clean it, so all that barefoot housework really did me in. I now have a maid
I can still wear strappy cute heals on occassion, but I am very careful about my shoes.
Good luck, NoHall. I can really relate to your pain.
My problem is that my arches are so high that I haven't found a shoe with arch supports that are high enough to give me any relief. I've tried on everything at Abbadabba on East Paces Ferry (they have Dansko, Clark, Merrill, etc.) and The Walking Company at Lenox. My arches are at least 1/4 inch above their supposed high-arched shoes.
My problem is that my arches are so high that I haven't found a shoe with arch supports that are high enough to give me any relief. I've tried on everything at Abbadabba on East Paces Ferry (they have Dansko, Clark, Merrill, etc.) and The Walking Company at Lenox. My arches are at least 1/4 inch above their supposed high-arched shoes.
have a line of shoes/clogs/sandals for high arches. In your search for the shoe that you can easily slide on and off (to let you maintain the barefoot feel you love), unfortunately form must always come before fashion...and, failing to find some retail product, you may have to go for custom-made shoes (again, go with a clog/sandal you can slip on and off) which can go for several hundred smackers. If you do this, make sure they have a very, very good return policy if you're not completely satisfied.
...bummer. I did some googling and found that Birkenstocks
Believe me, if PF drags out over several months, it really eats away at you and can become exceptionally depressing. I even had an ER doc tell me that he never gave a cortisone shot in a person's heel before and I told him "Just do it, I'll talk you through it!!" (I talked him through the procedure my podiatrist used, which was to press very hard in different places around my heel till "we" found the most painful spot--mark that area with a dot--and put the shot right there---YOWSA!!)
I've been to Abbadabbas. Birki's high arches don't even touch mine.
And OMG everyone in the building could hear me scream during each cortisone shot.
Thanks for the link.
It doesn't appear that they have arch support which is what I've been told that I need to keep my plantar fascia from over-stretching. 
