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What Causes Recurring Skin Infection?
Question: Hello Dr. Rynne,
Never done this before so please bear with me. For the past several years I have been experiencing a skin condition that looks alarmingly like ringworm. When I consulted my physician at the time, the symptoms had faded. He prescribed a steroid therapy (the week-long dosage), which cleared the noticeable affects up. Unfortunately the symptoms recurred. He again prescribed steroids, which again cleared the outlying symptoms, but they continued to recur. I lost access to my health insurance not long after and was not able to follow up with a dermatologist. Now the symptoms have become somewhat horrifying and I am a little too embarrassed to talk to another doctor about them, having been told that it wasn't ringworm to begin with (much like when I was told bleeding when I had a movement was hemorroids and nothing to worry about but wound up being a grossly huge polyp. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Never done this before so please bear with me. For the past several years I have been experiencing a skin condition that looks alarmingly like ringworm. When I consulted my physician at the time, the symptoms had faded. He prescribed a steroid therapy (the week-long dosage), which cleared the noticeable affects up. Unfortunately the symptoms recurred. He again prescribed steroids, which again cleared the outlying symptoms, but they continued to recur. I lost access to my health insurance not long after and was not able to follow up with a dermatologist. Now the symptoms have become somewhat horrifying and I am a little too embarrassed to talk to another doctor about them, having been told that it wasn't ringworm to begin with (much like when I was told bleeding when I had a movement was hemorroids and nothing to worry about but wound up being a grossly huge polyp. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Send some pics of the skin lesion, so I can help you better.
Detailed Answer:
Hi!
If the skin condition were diagnosed as ringworm, a fungal infection that is also called as tinea corporis (on the body) or capitis (in the head) or inguinum (in the thighs), then you should have been given, in addition to the steroids, a medication called as miconazole or cotrimoxazole. This is a cream, that you apply to the skin for a month, twice daily, till the suspected "ringworm" lesions are cured. You should have also been prescribed, an antibiotic cream like either gentamycin or mupirocin to clear up secondary bacterial infections. Now, I agree that steroids like bethmethasone, mometasone and clobetasol are great in effecting a "temporary" cure. But if the cause, the germ, the bug, the fungus causing your problem is not killed off, then, they grow back and come back to haunt you.
I totally understand when you made the analogy of the hemmorhoids which turned out to be a polyp - you are concerned, that this, manifestation of what people think is a ringworm, might be something more awful.
Let's make a fresh start. Do this. Kindly take a snapshot of your affected area and send it as an attachment to YYYY@YYYY In your email to these persons, state in the subject line of your email, this sentence, "Attention: Dr. Neel Kudchadkar" This is because I have taken the time to understand your case and will quickly be able to help you out, rather than, you having to explain the entire history of the skin lesion to another physician.
I will help you. Note that most skin issues are not so morbid as polyps and are easily and inexpensively treated with skin creams in the right medication combination.
Given, these facts, you can relax, send the pictures and get better soon.,
Looking forward to your response.
Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
Send some pics of the skin lesion, so I can help you better.
Detailed Answer:
Hi!
If the skin condition were diagnosed as ringworm, a fungal infection that is also called as tinea corporis (on the body) or capitis (in the head) or inguinum (in the thighs), then you should have been given, in addition to the steroids, a medication called as miconazole or cotrimoxazole. This is a cream, that you apply to the skin for a month, twice daily, till the suspected "ringworm" lesions are cured. You should have also been prescribed, an antibiotic cream like either gentamycin or mupirocin to clear up secondary bacterial infections. Now, I agree that steroids like bethmethasone, mometasone and clobetasol are great in effecting a "temporary" cure. But if the cause, the germ, the bug, the fungus causing your problem is not killed off, then, they grow back and come back to haunt you.
I totally understand when you made the analogy of the hemmorhoids which turned out to be a polyp - you are concerned, that this, manifestation of what people think is a ringworm, might be something more awful.
Let's make a fresh start. Do this. Kindly take a snapshot of your affected area and send it as an attachment to YYYY@YYYY In your email to these persons, state in the subject line of your email, this sentence, "Attention: Dr. Neel Kudchadkar" This is because I have taken the time to understand your case and will quickly be able to help you out, rather than, you having to explain the entire history of the skin lesion to another physician.
I will help you. Note that most skin issues are not so morbid as polyps and are easily and inexpensively treated with skin creams in the right medication combination.
Given, these facts, you can relax, send the pictures and get better soon.,
Looking forward to your response.
Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Sonia Raina
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