My father's developed a rash

[Sfiveten]

My father about a month ago developed what he says was a rash on the tops of each foot. He treated as athlete’s foot but the symptoms persisted. The rash then spread from his feet to his legs. He now is developing the rash on his back.

He describes the rash as red irritated skin with red bumps around the affected area. The rash is very itchy and is affecting his sleep as he is very uncomfortable.

He has a history of drinking and smoking. He has high blood pressure (on meds). He's 62 years old. He's if anything a little under weight.

Any help is appreciated.

[Sfiveten]

bump.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

This could be eczema or dermatitis.What medications is he on? Is he a diabetic too?

He needs to wash the areas several times with fresh water. Do not use any cosmetic products, new soaps, detergents at the sites.

Apply calamine lotion at the site of the lesions and see if it helps. He could take some oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine. He needs to maintain a good personal hygiene . Wear lose comfortable clothes. Wash all your linen and towels etc with a disinfectant solution.

Anti-itch drugs, often antihistamine, may reduce the itch during a flare up of eczema, and the reduced scratching in turn reduces damage and irritation to the skin.

For mild-moderate eczema a weak steroid may be used (e.g. hydrocortisone or desonide), whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).

Let us know if you need any further information.

It would be advisable to consult a skin specialist for the symptoms and a proper clinical examination.

Let us know if you need any other information and post us on how he is doing.

Regards.

[Sfiveten]

Thank you so much for the response.

I'm not sure of the exact medication; I know it's for high blood pressure. He does not suffer from diabetes.

I will pass this information on to him and see if we can get this healing process started. If it persists I will push for him to see a doctor. He currently does not have health insurance so he's trying to hold off if possible.

Again thank you very much and we'll keep you updated.

Happy Holidays.
SW

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Happy holidays to you too. Glad the post was of some help to you.

Let us know about how he is doing and if you need any other information.

Post us about what the doctor advises.

Regards.