Intertrigo: Symptoms and Causes

Intertrigo is a skin problem in which the folds of the skin become inflamed. Most of the time, this inflammation occurs due to heat, friction, and lack of air circulation. Sometimes, this inflamed skin becomes prone to secondary infection, and the skin becomes further inflamed due to this infection.

Intertrigo is a common complication of both obesity and diabetes. It is linked to obesity because severly obese people have more friction within their skin folds; it is linked to diabetes because poor circulation from diabetes often means that skin is more fragile and more prone to become infected and inflamed.

Intertrigo is more common in hot, humid environments, and mainly impacts those who are very old or very young, due to problems with mobility and the presence of incontinence.

Treatment for intertrigo most often occurs with antifungal creams, such as miconazole and clotrimazole. It is also important to keep the skin folds as dry and cool as possible. A drying solution can be applied to promote drying.

There are several ways to prevent intertrigo:

Weight loss, so that the skin does not rub against each other

Wearing loose, light cotton-based clothing to reduce moisture sitting on the skin

Cleansing affected areas with soap and water and allowing them to dry thoroughly

Using antifungal absorbent powder to reduce inflammation and infection on affected areas