If your feet really itch, it's usually due to a real condition, such as dry skin, fungus or an allergic reaction. A type of itching of the feet called pruritus is a symptom of some medical conditions, such as cholestasis.
Dry Skin
Dry skin on your feet will frequently make them itchy. Your skin may dry out if the air is dry, such as in the winter, when household heating tends to reduce humidity. Older people tend to have drier skin, including on their feet. Dry feet can also result from poor-fitting shoes, athlete's foot, psoriasis, thyroid disease and diabetes.
Athlete's Foot
While the dryness of athlete's foot can cause itching, it's moisture that causes this fungal infection, which is also known as tinea pedis. The fungus responsible for athlete's foot likes warm, moist environments, such as locker rooms and sweaty shoes and socks, which is why athlete's foot is so common among sports enthusiasts, although you don't have to be an athlete to get it.
Athlete's foot usually appears as an itchy rash between the toes or on the soles of the feet, which, if left untreated, can lead to blisters, oozing sores or cracked and peeling skin, according to the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society.
Contact Dermatitis
If you touch some types of chemical irritants or substances to which you have an allergy, you may get contact dermatitis. This itchy rash appears on whichever body part touches the irritant. Poison ivy is one common irritant leading to contact dermatitis, but if you haven't been out hiking, the American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging suggests that the leather or latex in your footwear may be the culprit.
Pruritus
The American Academy of Dermatology defines pruritus as an itch or sensation that makes a person want to scratch. This condition involves the nerve endings in the skin, and according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, it may indicate the presence of an underlying disease in 10 to 50 percent of older adults. Pruritus isn't limited to the feet, of course, but severe nighttime itching of the feet and hands and in areas where clothing is tight may be due to cholestasis. Cholestasis is a condition involving blockage of the ducts carrying digestive juices out of the gallbladder, so if you have this type of itching of the feet, call your doctor.
