Intertrigo

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Weight loss and frequent moving of the body are often helpful. Keeping areas of folded skin open with dry towels or blowing a fan across moist areas can also help. Loose, unrestrictive clothing should be worn.

Call your physician if intertrigo persists despite good home care or if it spreads beyond a skin fold.

Your health care provider can often make the diagnosis of intertrigo based upon the appearance of your skin. A skin scraping and KOH examination may also be done to rule out the possibility of a fungal infection. A Wood's lamp may be used to rule out a bacterial infection called erythrasma.

Rarely, a skin biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment options intertrigo including a low-dose steroid cream, a drying agent such as Domeboro soaks, or an antibiotic or antifungal cream applied to the skin.

Review Date: 10/16/2006
Reviewed By: Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Associate, Atlanta Center for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.