Diaper rash between the toes: treatment, stop

Causes

Diaper rash between the toes can occur in both men and women at any age.

Among the most common causes of diaper rash between the fingers in adults are the following:

lack of personal hygiene;
overweight;
frequent wearing of tight or rubber shoes;
hyperhidrosis;
damaged skin between the fingers;
after visiting the sauna or swimming pool;
after cosmetic procedures (pedicure);
allergy;
wearing someone else's shoes or socks;
diabetes;
diseases of the cardiovascular system;
impaired metabolism.

Diaper rash between the toes is also common in children. This may be caused by the child sweating excessively.

Causes

Diaper rash can be caused by several reasons:

cardiovascular diseases;
abrasions, wounds, cracks, scratches;
poor-quality shoes (either squeezing the foot or out of season);
overweight;
work activities where you have to spend a lot of time on your feet;
ignoring the rules of foot hygiene;
visiting bathhouses, swimming pools, beaches without rubber slippers;
negligent attitude towards the procedures of pedicure and manicure specialists;
contact with a carrier of infection or the use of his shoes or clothing.

How to recognize diaper rash

Diaper rash between the toes is fairly easy to recognize. At the first stage of the disease, the patient feels discomfort in the interdigital area, the skin itches and itches.

Upon examination, you can notice wounds and cracks in the skin. During walking or other physical activity, when sweating in the body increases and the skin between the fingers becomes wet, itching and discomfort intensify.

In more advanced stages of the disease, redness increases, the itching becomes unbearable, redness and swelling appear. Also, the skin in the places where diaper rash appears begins to tear off.

If treatment is not started in a timely manner, purulent inflammation will occur in the area where diaper rash occurs.

Prevention

Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat.
To avoid sweating between your legs, it is useful to add antiseptics to the water when washing them. After the procedure, it is recommended to dry your limbs well with a soft cotton towel, and then walk around without shoes. You need to change wet socks or tights on time and prevent your shoe insoles from getting wet. Before putting on the product and visiting a public place, you can use Thermikon spray or another antifungal agent.

The importance of the right shoes

Interdigital sweating can occur when wearing unsuitable sneakers, boots or sandals. If the skin between the toes sweats, then the right shoes are an important criterion. When wearing rubber products that do not allow air to pass through, favorable conditions arise for the development of pathogenic microflora. If you need to wear socks or tights under your shoes, then preference is given to more natural, cotton products. They are able to absorb excess moisture. Doctors recommend leaving your legs open for a while when coming from the street. In cold weather, when coming to the workplace, you should change into replaceable shoes. When choosing footwear, you need to pay attention to their naturalness and the presence of moisture-absorbing insoles.

Symptoms and stages of development

Symptoms of diaper rash on the legs:

redness of the epidermis in the interdigital area;
the occurrence of cracks and abrasions;
prickly heat on the feet;
itching and burning that worsens with walking or physical activity;
moisture in the skin between the toes;
pain;
the appearance of ulcers;
unpleasant smell.

If you notice at least a few of the above symptoms, you should immediately contact a dermatologist, who will make the correct diagnosis and prescribe effective treatment.

There are three stages of disease development:

Easy, or beginner. This stage is characterized by the appearance of cracks and abrasions in the interdigital cavities. In addition, during physical activity the patient feels discomfort and itching.
Average. At this stage, the discomfort that occurs during movement intensifies, the cracks become deeper and can develop into bleeding wounds.
Heavy. The patient feels severe pain in the feet, the skin becomes covered with ulcers, and purulent inflammation occurs. The disease can spread throughout the entire foot.

How do diaper rash appear on the hands?

If you do not promptly pay attention to the appearance of redness of the skin on your hands, the disease will begin to progress. A gray coating appears, which is accompanied by an unpleasant odor and bleeding. A person constantly experiences a feeling of severe discomfort, and due to severe itching, daily activity is noticeably reduced.

At the next stage, deformation of the nail plates begins, they crack, heterogeneity appears, transparency is lost and the color changes from transparent to brown or black. Nails become brittle.

Treatment methods

Before treating diaper rash, you should determine at what stage of development the disease is.

If the disease is mild, first of all it is necessary to minimize any mechanical impact on the skin of the feet. It is recommended to avoid shoes made from low-quality materials. Diaper rash on the little toe is often caused by tight shoes made of hard materials; in such cases, it is better to opt for loose and soft shoes.

In addition, you need to pay special attention to hygiene: careful care in the interdigital area is quite important. The skin should be washed with warm water and fragrance-free soap. During washing, you can use a small amount of antiseptic. After washing, dry the skin of your feet thoroughly with a towel.

Medical therapy

If interdigital diaper rash occurs, you should consult a doctor promptly. The specialist, having assessed the patient’s condition, will prescribe the necessary antibiotics, antibacterial and medications or special ointments.

In the initial stages of the disease, it is recommended to treat the interdigital folds with baby powder, which dries the skin well. Also, to dry the epidermis, absorb excess sweat and restore blood circulation, a specialist may advise exposing the skin to infrared light.

Treatment with folk remedies

In the initial stages of the disease, folk remedies are quite effective.

Foot baths based on oak bark, calendula, chamomile, celandine or pine needles have an anti-inflammatory effect, soften irritated skin and normalize sweating. It is recommended to do such baths twice a day for 2 weeks.

For an antibacterial effect, you can treat the skin between your fingers with brilliant green, and for softening purposes, sunflower or olive oil is suitable.

How to deal with diaper rash

If you pay attention to the first symptoms in time, the treatment will take place quickly and without difficulty. It is important to follow hygiene procedures: frequent hand washing and using antibacterial soap. The main thing is not to forget to thoroughly dry the interdigital space.

It is important to know: the symptomatic manifestation of diaper rash should go away within a day; if this does not happen, you need to start using ointments, creams, and medications.

Skin care for diaper rash

When treating diaper rash, personal hygiene plays an important role. The skin in the area where the pathology occurs must be washed thoroughly and often. It is not recommended to use products with added dyes, fragrances and chemical components.

After washing, the skin should be thoroughly dried, while avoiding strong rubbing movements, which can damage the delicate layer of the epidermis and cause irritation.

Application of ointments and creams

If severe inflammation occurs, dermatologists advise treating damaged skin with zinc-based medicinal ointments, which have a drying and antibacterial effect. Teymur's paste is especially useful in the fight against diaper rash. It helps absorb excess moisture, eliminates pathogenic microbes and unpleasant odors. Apply this product 3 times a day to clean and dry skin.

In order to heal ulcers and soothe irritations, it is recommended to use Vaseline, calendula-based ointment or medicinal creams “Panthenol” and “Levomekol”. These remedies have a healing effect and eliminate inflammation.

How and with what to treat diaper rash between the toes

Diaper rash on the feet and fingers is treated comprehensively. Standard therapy includes:

medicines;
physiotherapy;
sanitary and hygienic treatment.

It is important to follow the recommendations of a specialist when using antifungal or antibacterial agents.

When a fungus forms, the space between the fingers cracks, then blisters filled with blood fluid appear. The skin begins to peel off, a burning sensation and an unpleasant odor appear.

If you stop taking medications prematurely, the fungus will become resistant to them. In this case, in case of relapse of inflammation, it is necessary to use drugs with other active ingredients.

Antiseptic treatment

Feet in shoes sweat a lot, which increases the risk of fungal and microbial growth. To prevent their penetration into the skin, it is necessary to carry out antiseptic treatment:

Washing. 2-3 times a day, the feet and toes are washed with tar or laundry soap. This guarantees the destruction of 80% of pathogens and the elimination of unpleasant odors.
Drying the interdigital spaces. After water procedures, the skin is blotted with a towel or paper napkins.
Treatment of foci of inflammation. To prevent purulent inflammation of the legs, diaper rash is treated with a solution of boric acid, nitrofural. It is also recommended to use Chlorophyllipt or Chlorhexidine.

To prevent sweating, fingers are treated with talcum powder or antiseptic powder. This prevents the accumulation of moisture in the skin folds and the proliferation of fungi and bacteria.

Pharmacy ointments

Diaper rash between the toes should be treated with ointments as recommended by a doctor. Drugs are prescribed for the formation of cracks and ulcerations. To prevent even greater inflammation, agents with drying, disinfecting, and anti-inflammatory properties are prescribed.

To remove irritation and weeping, use:

Pantestin – accelerates tissue scarring, prevents inflammation;
Zinc ointment - dries up weeping diaper rash, destroys germs and softens the skin of the feet;
Panthenol – stimulates skin regeneration, restores the hydrolipidic film;
Weleda - soothes the skin, accelerates cellular metabolism, ensures rapid tissue healing;
Desitin – eliminates inflammation, dries wounds, effectively relieves swelling and irritation;
Baneocin - destroys pathogenic bacteria, eliminates purulent inflammation between the toes;
Clotrimazole – destroys the cells of mold and yeast-like fungi, reduces sweating;
Nystatin - destroys fungus, eliminates inflammation and white plaque on the skin.

Cream for diaper rash in adults sometimes causes side effects. Abuse of antibacterial and antifungal drugs is fraught with allergic reactions, itching, and peeling.

Therapeutic baths

To eliminate diaper rash on the legs, it is recommended to take baths with medicinal herbs. For the procedure the following are used:

St. John's wort;
peppermint;
celandine;
Oak bark;
pharmaceutical chamomile;
series;
calendula flowers.

To reduce sweating on the feet, add a decoction of eucalyptus or peppermint to the water. Therapeutic baths have antiseptic, deodorizing and wound-healing properties. For diaper rash of degrees 1 and 2, the procedure is performed daily for 1-2 weeks.

How to get rid of diaper rash:

2 tbsp. l. medicinal herbs pour ½ liter of water;
boil over low heat for 5-7 minutes;
the strained broth is added to a bowl of water;
feet soar for 15-20 minutes.

Baths are used to treat and prevent skin irritation. After the procedure, the interdigital area is dried and treated with talcum powder. During periods of acute inflammation, take baths with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. For ulcers and white plaque on the legs, add a few drops of iodine to the water.

Folk remedies

Treatment of intertrigo at home involves the use of alternative medicine. Herbal recipes with natural oils and herbs stimulate the healing of the epidermis.

It is very important to start treating the disease in a timely manner, especially if children suffer from it. Otherwise, you may end up without nails forever. And this will lead to the fact that the fingers will remain unprotected from external environmental influences. The appearance of your legs will also be significantly affected.

To cope with the problem, use the following means:

Phytomaz. 1 tbsp. l. Melt honey in the microwave, add 4 drops each of eucalyptus and sea buckthorn oil. Mix with 10 g of Vaseline and leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours. The ointment is used to treat damaged skin of the legs before going to bed.
Applications with plantain. Grind a few leaves in a blender and add 1 tbsp. l. olive oil. The paste is applied to diaper rash and wrapped in gauze. After 25-30 minutes, wash off the remains with chamomile decoction.

Before you get rid of diaper rash between your toes, you need to make sure there are no allergies. A small amount of the medicinal mixture is applied to healthy skin. If redness or burning does not occur within 30-50 minutes, use the product as directed.

Choosing the right shoes

Poor quality shoes are one of the key causes of diaper rash on the feet. The problem is more common in men, since even in the warm season they wear closed shoes and sneakers. To prevent disease, you need to be guided by the following criteria for choosing shoes:

Material. You should give preference to shoes made of genuine leather. In summer, it is recommended to wear cotton moccasins.
Size. Tight shoes cause excessive sweating and friction of skin folds. When walking, your toes should not be pressed tightly against each other.
Smell. A strong smell of rubber or glue indicates poor quality shoes. It does not allow air to pass through, increases sweating, and provokes contact dermatitis.

By evening, the legs swell more, causing the foot to increase slightly in size. Therefore, experts recommend purchasing shoes in the late afternoon. This will prevent calluses, diaper rash, and peeling of the skin.

Preventive measures

People of any gender and at any age are susceptible to diaper rash. To prevent the occurrence of this disease, it is recommended to follow some rules:

make a choice in favor of shoes made from natural materials;
adhere to the rules of personal hygiene;
follow the rules for visiting swimming pools and saunas;
do not use other people's shoes and clothes;
do not use other people’s pedicure tools;
moisturize the skin of the feet.

By following these steps, the risk of diaper rash will be minimized.