Brief Answer: Fungal Infection; oral+topical antifungals Detailed Answer: Hello and Welcome to healthcaremagic. I am Dr. Kakkar and I have gone through your concern and understood it. I would keep a possibility of Fungal Infection.. Body folds, specially when they are deep and closely apposed to each other, as in people who are overweight, presents an ideal environment for the fungus to grow (warm, moist and humid) specially in summers and in coastal and tropical areas e.g Mumbai, where body sweats a lot. If the folds are deep and closely apposed, the moisture gets trapped in between the folds, thus favoring fungus growth. Clinically it presents with itching, redness and scaling. If this is allowed to continue then constant itching and scratching makes the skin become darker and thick in that area and thus an element of eczema sets in along with fungal infection, where the more you itch the more is the desire to itch ( vicious itch scratch cycle sets in). Treatment is based on: -Antifungal creams: Clotrimazole/Ketoconazole/Sertaconazole/Luliconazole for 4-6 weeks -Antifungal tablets: Fluconazole/Itraconazole/Terbinafine for 4-6 weeks -An oral antihistamines like either Cetrizine/Fexofenadine or Loratadine can be taken once or twice daily symptomatically, for the itch associated with fungal infection -An antifungal dusting powder like Clotrimazole dusting powder is an important part of treatment and for prevention of relapse/recurrence of infection, specially in hot, humid weather conditions like mumbai, because frequent dusting with an anti-fungal dusting powder not only keeps the area dry but also inhibits the fungus from regrowing (being an antifungal). More than the treatment it is the prevention of recurrence of fungal infection that is the main concern. Some general measures like: Wearing loose fitting clothes, cotton undergarments, bathing twice daily(in summers), managing one's weight (if overweight) and sticking to the treatment for the entire duration (4-6 weeks) goes a long way in getting the desired results. Hope this answers your query regards

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Brief Answer: Antifungal dusting powder Detailed Answer: Hi. Antifungal creams should ideally be applied twice daily for 4-6 weeks. Oral antihistamines can be taken for symptomatic control of itching, as and when required. They can be stopped once the itching subsides. If your present status is negligible or no itching, then you should use just an antifungal dusting powder e.g Clotrimazole dusting powder to prevent the infection from developing again. Frequent dusting with an anti-fungal dusting powder not only keeps the area dry but being an antifungal, also inhibits the fungus from regrowing. regards

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