Home Care:

Weight loss and frequent moving of the body are often helpful. Keeping areas of folded skin open with dry towels or blowing a fan across moist areas can also help. Loose, unrestrictive clothing should be worn.

Call your health care provider if:

Call your health care provider if the condition persists despite good home care, or if it spreads beyond a skin fold.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

Your health care provider can often make the diagnosis simply by looking at your skin.

A skin scraping and KOH examination may also be done to rule out a fungal infection.

A Wood's lamp may be done to rule out a bacterial infection called erythrasma.

Rarely, a skin biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment options for intertrigo include a low-dose steroid cream, a drying agent such as Domeboro soaks, or an antibiotic or antifungal cream applied to the skin.