The Effect of Sock Type on Fungal Growth in Feet Jeff Sweat

Background Information  Does sock type have an effect on fungal growth in feet?  Well fitting socks are most important  Material does not matter(Woolley, 2012)  Effects people around the world  Diabetic socks are cotton socks stitched differently(Carol,2011

Methodology Choose Participants to be tested Prepare Agar for testing Give the participants the socks to be worn Let the participants wear the socks for 5 hours Take up all the socks and place them into seperate bags Label all of the Bags Dip a cotton swab into distilled water Swab the inside heel of the sock Streak the plate with the cotton swab Repeat twice for each sock Incupate at 37 degrees for 4 days Count all colonies on the plates

Hypothesis  There will be a difference in the amount of fungal growth inhibited by socks.

Experimental Design The Effect of Sock Type on Amount of Fungal Growth in Feet IV: Sock Type Levels of the IV: Cotton SocksDiabetic Socks Repeated Trials 50 Constants: Time the socks are worn, cell culturing techniques, Sock types worn Control: Socks that have not been worn Timeline: The socks will be swabbed and cultured the day they are collected.

Quantatative Results IV Levels ControlCotton SocksDiabetic Socks Mean Range Min0211 Max STDV Trials250

Results P value of <0.01 F value of Statistically Significant Decrease in Bacteria Growth with Diabetic Socks

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Conclusion  Diabetic socks promoted the least fungal growth on feet when worn for five hours.  Now we know that people should wear diabetic socks when performing athletic activities.

Next Step  The immediate next step for future research would be experimentation on nylon socks verses diabetic socks.  Further experimentation and testing with more trials for the control and the experiment as a whole would be the long term goal of the experiment.

Literature Cited  American society for microbiology; fungi the cause of many outbreaks of disease but mostly ignored. (2008). NewsRx Health & Science,, 91. Retrieved from  Antimicrobial behaviour of socks from bamboo fibres.(2009, 02). Retrieved from  Carol, F. (2011). Sockwearreccommendations for people with diabetes. Retrieved from spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/14/2/59.full ‎  Crawford, F., Hart, R., Bell-Syer, S., Torgerson, D. J., & al, e. (2001).Athlete's foot and fungally infected toenails.British Medical Journal, 322(7281), Retrieved from  de Almeida,,M.J., W, B. Y., Habberman, D., Medeiros, E. M., & al, e. (2004). Extrinsic compression of popliteal artery in asymptomatic athlete and non-athlete individuals: A comparative study using duplex scan (color duplex sonography).International Angiology, 23(3), Retrieved from  Woolley, E. (1/5/12) What Are Diabetic Socks and Do I Need Them? About.com Retrieved from Diabetic-Socks-And-Do-I-Need-Them.htm  (2012). The Test. Lab Tests Online. Retrieved from and-wellness/articles/808184/all-about-athletes-foot

Acknowledgments  I would like to thank Mrs. Baskett, Ms. Jackson, and Mr. Hendrix for their help and support during this rigorous task.  They have made many suggestions that have led to adjustments to my project that have helped it tremendously.

Student Accomplishments  Varsity Baseball as a Freshman and Sophomore  Set New Personal Best Times in the 100 yard Backstroke and 50 yard Freestyle on the Varsity Swim Team  Peer Mentoring Program

The Effect of Sock Type on Fungal Growth in Feet Jeff Sweat