Beach Feet: A Sand-associated Thermal Injury to the Soles of the Feet and the Plantar Aspect of the Toes

Athletes may develop sports-related dermatoses. Indeed, participants of aquatic-associated sports can experience dermatologic conditions that affect their feet when they play barefooted on the beach. These disorders are variable in etiology and include traumatic injury to the unprotected feet and toes, penetration of organisms (such as hookworm larva and schistosomiasis cercaria) into the feet and toes, and ultraviolet radiation-related maladies such as an acute phototoxic reaction (sunburn) and thermal injury from contact with hot sand. Indeed, exposure to hot sand can result in first-degree, second-degree or rarely third-degree burns. A 27-year-old man developed painful erythematous patches on the plantar feet and toes after running barefoot on the sand during a hot August afternoon on a dog beach in Del Mar, California. To emphasize both the injury-causing environment and the affected location, beach sand-associated thermal injury to the soles of the feet and the plantar aspects of the toes is referred to as beach feet.