Brief Answer: Fungal Infection; oral+topical antifungals Detailed Answer: Hello and Welcome to healthcaremagic. I am Dr. Kakkar and I have gone through your concern and understood it. I would keep a possibility of Fungal Infection.. Body folds, specially when they are deep and closely apposed to each other, as in people who are overweight, presents an ideal environment for the fungus to grow (warm, moist and humid) specially in summers and more so in coastal and tropical areas e.g where body sweats a lot. If the folds are deep and closely apposed, the moisture gets trapped in between the folds, thus favoring fungus growth. Clinically it presents with itching, redness and scaling. If this is allowed to continue then constant itching and scratching makes the skin become thicker in that area and thus an element of eczema sets in along with fungal infection, where the more you itch the more is the desire to itch ( vicious itch scratch cycle sets in). You have been using Hyderm 1% which is hydrocortisone (a very mild steroid)+Nystatin (Topical antifungal) in a ratio of 1:1. Topical formulation alone sometimes proves ineffective, therefore the need to combine with an oral antifungal. Absorbine is menthol, it is just a soothing lotion for itching and is not expected to help in fungal infection. Aveeno is a mositurizer and has no role in fungal infection. After going through your treatment, I find that you have not been treated adequately for you fungal infection. Treatment for a fungal infection is based on: -Antifungal creams: Either Clotrimazole/Ketoconazole/Sertaconazole OR Luliconazole for 4-6 weeks -Antifungal tablets: Fluconazole/Itraconazole OR Terbinafine for 4-6 weeks -An oral antihistamines like either Cetrizine/Fexofenadine or Loratadine can be taken once or twice daily symptomatically, for the itch associated with fungal infection -An antifungal dusting powder like Clotrimazole dusting powder is an important part of treatment and for prevention of relapse/recurrence of infection, because frequent dusting with an anti-fungal dusting powder not only keeps the area dry but also inhibits the fungus from regrowing (being an antifungal). More than the treatment it is the prevention of recurrence of fungal infection that is the main concern. Some general measures like: Wearing loose fitting clothes, cotton undergarments, bathing twice daily(in summers), managing one's weight (if overweight) and sticking to the treatment for the entire duration (4-6 weeks) goes a long way in getting the desired results. Hope this answers your query regards

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