Dr. Gott: Rash could be fungal infection

Dear Dr. Gott: I have a problem going back more than 20 years and wonder if there is any help and how alone I am with this condition.

I originally developed a severe rash in my groin area, for which my doctor prescribed Lotrisone cream. I think I may have gone camping and didn’t get a shower for a couple of days. A few years later, I developed a rash under my arms (that I believe later turned out to be an allergy), and the same doctor prescribed diflorasone diacetate ointment. Both those areas became addicted to the application of either of these creams/ointments, which I then found out contained steroids, and if I failed to use one or the other after each shower, I developed an itchy rash that took days to clear up using either product.

I went to a dermatologist, who recognized the condition and prescribed DesOwen 5 percent lotion. After five return visits and no improvement, I quit going.

Now I use the three products alternately. The paper-thin skin is improved and the rash and itch are under control. If I fail to use one or another of the products, within a couple of days the rash and severe itch return, requiring sometimes two showers a day for up to a week and using the products to get things back in control. Luckily, the problem areas involved have not spread in all these years.

My doctor says to just live with it. I’d sure like a better solution than that! I’m a healthy, active, 76-year-old male and not ready to give it up without a fight. Can you help me?

Dear Reader: I wonder, given the locations of your rash, if you could have a fungal skin infection. This could be diagnosed using a special culture of the affected skin. I suggest that you visit a second dermatologist, have a fungus culture and follow his or her advice. While awaiting your visit with the dermatologist, you may want to give Vicks VapoRub a try. I have received letters from patients suffering from fungal rashes, such as jock itch, who have applied VapoRub once or twice a day, and in a matter of two or three days, the rash and itching were gone.

Dear Dr. Gott: Could you please give me the name of the over-the-counter medication for irritable bowel syndrome? A woman wrote a letter in your column, but the newspaper got thrown away before I had a chance to save the column. I have many bowel problems, and I would like to try it.

Dear Reader: The product is called Digestive Advantage IBS. Many readers have had great success with it.