Athlete's Foot? Heat Rash? Something else?

I noticed on February 6th that I had some kind of sore on the left side of my left heel, small enough to cover with a standard bandage. I asked someone what she thought of it, and she said it looked like a broken blister. I disagreed because I never had a blister look like that. I described it as a cluster of red dots, once in a while itchy, once in a while painful, but mildly. I didn't dare scratch or even touch the area though (of if i did touch it, i'd wash my hands right away). She said to cover it with a bandaid, which was a bad idea I think. It continued to grow and when it got big enough that an extra large bandage was needed to cover it, I went to the doctor. As the cluster grew, the area in the middle would become scab-like and eventually peel off, revealing new, seemingly uninfected skin underneath (just pink and tender, like it's not quite ready to be the top skin yet) and the good skin outside of this area would start to become infected, and the cycle continued. I saw my doctor on March 2 and she could not come up with a diagnosis when she looked at it. She said it doesn't have characteristics of any thing in particular. I showed her the other side of my left heel (the inner, right side) where I had noticed the same kind of little red bumps forming in a new location about 2 days before. To which she replied "hmm." There was only a few dots at that point. She called in a cream for me to pick up called Clotrimazole and Betamethasone Dipropionate to apply twice a day. I asked when I should start seeing a change and she said as long as a week. After a week I couldn't tell if it was getting better or worse (every time I thought it was getting better, it would then look worse to me), but it seemed to have at least slowed down the spread in the first infection site. The second infection site continued on its course however, but slower than the first one that did not get treated for over a month of development. This site did not grow bigger than dime sized however. I noticed around March 20 that it started to peel. The first infection site now seems to be clear of notable red bumps and is just a big mass of new pink skin with some hard edges where the skin stopped pealing. But 2 days before now, I started seeing the same little red bumps under my foot, on the ball of my foot. A little cluster, with one stray bump a little farther away. I found it when I felt pain under my foot and thought something in my sock or slipper was pinching me. It was a little itchy too. So I started putting the cream on that area everyday too. Today however, it looks different than the first two sites. The bumps are starting to resemble blisters, like they might be getting fluid in them. Since finding these bumps, I haven't felt any itching or pain. I don't know what to make of all this. But I can't use the cream on the first two sites after March 30, because the insert for the cream says do not use for tinea pedis more than four weeks. "Not" was underlined. My doctor said to not bother trying to get an appointment with a dermatologist because it would take three months for me to see one. But if these bumps on the ball of my left foot continue this way, I'll have to see the doc again, or get another opinion.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I cannot confirm anything without examination but it can be bullous tinea, friction blister or pompholyx.
When a foot is hot and sweaty, the sock sticks to the foot. The sock and foot then rub against each other and the inside of the shoe causing blisters to appear. Wear shoes that fit properly and keep feet as dry as possible. Wearing wet shoes, boots and socks will increase your chance of developing blisters.So change socks regularly.
And use foot powder to help keep your feet dry. If the blisters still persist then please get it evaluated from a dermatologist/podiatrist. Biopsy skin can be done to confirm the diagnosis.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.