Brief Answer:
Tinea Cruris/Fungal Infection
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic.
I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your query and i have understood it.
Thanks for the picture. It is a classical case of Fungal Infection/Tinea cruris.
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 where body sweats a lot.
If the folds are deep and closely apposed as in people who are overweight, the moisture gets trapped in between the folds, thus favoring fungus growth.
Clinically it presents with itching skin which is sore, red and scaly. 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-itch cycle sets in).
Treatment is commonly based on:
-Antifungal creams: Either
Clotrimazole OR
Sertaconazole OR Luliconazole cream twice daily for 4-6 weeks
-Antifungal tablets: Either
Fluconazole 150mg once every week for 4-6 weeks OR
Itraconazole 100mg Cap, 2 capsules once daily for 1 week OR
Terbinafine 250mg once daily for 2-4 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
-Apart from the treatment with antifungals, it is the prevention of recurrence of fungal infection that seems to be the main concern in most. 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, 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).
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.
regards