As most of you know, I am in my 70"S. and this year, I have developed a rash. I am over weight, You know pleasently pump. In the folds on my belly and between my legs, there is this really terrible rash, I went to Doc. and he said to put monistat on it. as he fiqured it was yeast. Didn"t work, I tried Gold Bond, didn"t work, went to a female doc. and she had me do a diabetic test, nope wasn"t that.So there answer to the problem, was stay indoors and out of heat. She has got to be kidding. On a homestead. !!!! There has got to be something to get rid of this, It acts like prickly heat or jockey itch, Help. Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), July 30, 2001

Answers

Irene, I feel for you. I've had some rashes this summer as well and they can DRIVE YOU NUTS! What I use is Caldesene, a medicated powder for babies. It comes in a pink shaker bottle and you can find it in the baby department. I don't know that it would be any better than Gold Bond powder, but it might be a different formulation that will work for you. If that doesn't help, you might want to try an athlete's foot medication and see what that does. The biggest gun I have in my arsenal for skin probles is Blu-kote. You know, the cow wound dressing. That stuff will kill any skin fungus, but the problem with it is it stains everything purple from the gentian violet in it. It also is hard on the skin and very drying, but if I get ring worm from the animals,it's my med of choice. But try the Caldesene (if it doesn't work for this rash at least it's a nice after bath powder) and then go for the athlete's foot medication. Hope that helps and you get rid of the rash soon!

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), July 30, 2001.

Try Resinol. You'll need to ask for it at pharmacy. One time they had to order it but it didn't take long to get. Good Luck!! DW

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), July 30, 2001.

Try Cortizone 10. You can get it at any drugstore or Walmart. It's in a bright yellow tube. Comes in either gel or cream. Seems to take care of whatever heat rash or "galding" as we call it that arises here. Good luck. Debbie

-- Debbie (dc1253@hcis.net), July 30, 2001.

Irene, Try straight corn starch. Worth a try, cheap. Usually works for me.

-- Emily in central Ky. (BellyAcresFarm@kyk.net), July 30, 2001.

Irene, I get the same problem from time to time. Try cutting down on sugar in your diet and use destin oitnment, works for me.

-- Toni,NY (dontoni@iinc.com), July 30, 2001.

You have my sympathies. I have the same problem occassionally. Try washing the area with a dilute solution (about 1%) household bleach. May sting a little but it is bearable. Rinse and pat dry. Then try topical clotrimasol (Lotrimin is the brand name) or if that fails, try Lamisil cream. All too often the funguses nowdays are resistant to tolnaftate (desenex) or miconizole (Monistat or Micatin). You may also want to add about 600 mcg of allicin (High allicin garlic tabs like Garlique) and a general probiotic to your diet. Quite often older individuals have a high intestinal population of candida from the stresses of a long and full life. When this population gets out of hand it can cause dietary disturbances ( read diarrhea and or periodic constipation) and can go systemic expressing itself as external body rashes among other symptoms. Check out the information available on candidiasis syndrome on the web. For really stubborn cases of candida you may want to try undecyclenic acid such as in Cannplex by Imhotep (try a health food store or you can get it online from the company). We've been working with my 82 year old mother who had candida very bad last year and so have done alot of research into this. I've cleared up my rashes with this approach. Email me if you have any questions .

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), July 30, 2001.

I hope it is a heat rash but it could be a skin parasite. Maybe chiggers or scabies. If it does not clear up have doctor check for them.

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), July 30, 2001.

Hi Irene, my father in law had the same problem, and MIL used Aveeno cream. Worked wonders. She had tried all kinds of stuff before, with no success. They also make a bath treatment to soak in. Might be worth a try.

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), July 30, 2001.

if its prickley heat,, shower 5 times a day,, or more,, that will get rid of it

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), July 30, 2001.

Irene, I know this will sound wierd, but a Dr. I know who has nursing home and rehab pts said that roll-on deodorant will cure a rash like this by keeping the area completely dry.

-- Paula (chipp89@bellsouth.net), July 30, 2001.

Irene, I've had a problem with "jock itch", or "crotch rot" or whatever, for 27 years. I have been dealing with it, mostly successfully since then by using corn starch, and by making sure not to stay in sweaty clothes too long.

I'm lucky that we have very low humidity here in the hot weather. If I still lived in East Texas, it would likely have been terminal by now.

It was giving me terrible grief since last December, when I spent a couple of weeks in Costa Rica, visiting friends there. The weather was just like back in east Texas. Yech.

Fortunately, I was visiting a couple of friends here in Orygun about a month ago. The male half of these friends is a Physician's Assistant. I asked him if there were any new miracle drugs that weren't available back in 1974, when all the doctors I consulted were useless. He said yes, and in fact one of the wonder drugs has recently been allowed to be sold "over the counter". I tried it, and it is truly a wonder drug.

He says that some people will relapse after a few months, but so far, I haven't.

I can't prescribe drugs, obviously, nor would I, even if I could, without being able to see your rash, but it worked for me.

The stuff is called Clotrimazole, and he says that farmacies are actually cheaper than grocery stores and such. I had to pay about nine bucks for one oz. which did the job. Joe, the PA said that I should have been able to find it for about $6 for an oz and a half.

Good luck!

JOJ

Oh, yeah, one of the docs said that this fungus likes high pH, so the lye used in soap makes it happy. He suggested a pH balanced soap, I think called Neutra something or other. I tried it, but it didn't work for me (at the time, I was living in a much moister climate, though.) You might experiment with different soaps, though.

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 30, 2001.

Hey, Ed, if you ever got this, you'd WISH it were chiggers! I've had plenty of chiggers. No big deal. You just put camphor on the little creeps.

And they definitely don't last for 27 years!

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 30, 2001.

You guys and gals are really a great bunch of people, to come to my aid, I don"t know which one to try first. I printed this off, and takeing to wally world with me. Sandra, what is a probiotic? I take garlic everyday. I truly thank all of you. with love Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), July 31, 2001.

A probiotic is a concentrate of the friendly microorganisms that should inhabit our intestines. Most commonly a combination of assorted lactobacilli and bifidobacterium. You can get it at most health food stores or it can be ordered online from various companies. There are alot of different brands, but most combine five or six of the most common bacteria. Taking these helps crowd out the candida and other pathogens, especially when you help kill them with allicin or some other compound or herb.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), July 31, 2001.

Hey,

One more suggestion along with all the others. A cream called Balmx or Balmex. Many years ago our son had real bad diaper rash and the pediatrician recommended it and it worked great. I have also used it frequently on various heat rashes for years and it's good stuff. you should have a cure here somewhere because a lot of the other suggestions were things I've used with success also.

Good luck

-- carter (chucky@usit.net), August 04, 2001.

My vote goes to cortizone 10 to heal, and Balmex to protect/prevent.

I used a comfrey paste I made with dry leaves and allmond oil, and Calendula in spray form (7-$8 at the health food store) for an insect bite on my belly.The spray is great for the skin, and even softened my foot callouses instantly!

-- rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), August 12, 2001.

The one thing that I found that helped the most is wearing 100% cotton long knee-length undies and tank undershirts UNDER my bra. I was able to order them from Penneys catalog. I think some of the Amish outlets have them also.

At the end of my shower I give myself a vinegar rinse, too.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), September 23, 2001.

I don't know whether to be happy (I am) or mad! I've been suffering with this jock itch, crotch rot, whatever, since 1974. Now I'm well, thanks to Clotrimazole. I've been working outside all summer, and no relapse. I even survived visiting with my grandbabies in Floriduh for a week in late Aug/early Sept, with no problem.

So why should I be mad? 'Cause I didn't learn about this stuff a LONG time ago!

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), September 24, 2001.

I know that many people don't like to shop or use manufactured remedies, but you would be amazed at what you can learn just by visiting a local store and reading the labels on some of the products. I never knew you could buy a kit tha replaces fillings, and many other things I have found just browsing the aisles of the stores. It can be very educational. I'm sure anyone who has suffered for many years from some of these problems would be glad to spend 1/2 hour in a store to be cured of a miserable health problem Just a thought.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), September 27, 2001.