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Itchy rash on legs

Alzebra

Well-Known Member
Messages
604
Location
North East
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi,

Since Christmas 2014 I've had an incredibly itchy rash on both calves. It's very red with raised lumps and gets worse when I'm on my feet all day. Sometimes it goes away for a week or so but then comes back again. My DSN was really dismissive, told me to moisturise more, so I eventually managed to get an appt with my GP who thought it might be ringworm and gave me Daktarin cream. 3 weeks later the affected patches are smaller but still just as red and sore.

Getting an appt with my GP involves about 3 hours on the phone trying to get through, followed by a triage callback process and then I might be given an appt in a few weeks' time. Generally, I will have to take time off work to complete these steps. So if anyone has any suggestions for home remedies I'd be most grateful!!!

Cheers, Al
 
Given that the treatment that your Dr give you on your last visit reduced the symptoms I would persevere and try and get another appointment with them, failing that mention to your Pharmacist what the Dr said and prescribed and see if they can recommend a suitable product.
 

If you really do have a fungal skin infection not all the creams that are readily available have the same effect. I've been affected on and off since childhood and Daktarin has no effect on me. You could try Canestan or even Scholl atheletes foot cream (it can be used for other fungal skin infections other than athelete's foot.)

Standard Canestan has an active ingredient concentration of 1% but you can also get it from Boots at 2% strength. My doc told me to ask for this once but I got a good quizzing from the counter staff!
 
Thanks for the replies, I will have a chat with my pharmacist who is lovely and see if he can supply the stronger Canestan
 
Are you taking Ibuprofen.. This has caused skin problems for the wife ... Her Dr diagnosed everything from shingles to ringworm .. No treatment worked .. Until she stopped taking the ibuprofen..then in days the rash was gone ..took the ibuprofen again and the rash returned ...
Just a thought .. And do let your chemist look as they good at seeing what's wrong
 
I'm not taking Ibuprofen but I am taking a host of other things, so you might be on to something there. I'm going to ask the pharmacist, trying not to feel embarrassed at asking a man 20 years my junior to have a look at my legs! (one of the downsides of teaching teenagers for a living is that I'm very aware of how such things can be misinterpreted!)
 
Hi Alzebra. I have had tbe same thing on my leg. Calf to be exact. Gp diagnosed ring worm. 3 months later and 4th cream later it has now nearly healed. The itching drove me mad. Timidine cream was the one that works for me. Hooe this helos.
 
My Mr B gets a rash on his lower legs and lower back from too much milk and cheese.

Large amounts of cheese cause the rash/itchy patches (he can scratch to blood in his sleep)
Small amounts give him dry skin.
Zero dairy and his skin glows with health.

The doc told him it was fungal, then his washing powder.
Told him to bathe in, um... some oat milk stuff.
Then told him to get used to it.

When I eventually persuaded him to switch to lactofree, it cleared up within 5 days.

I'm not suggesting that milk is your problem, but I am suggesting that you look beyond the obvious, and maybe pay for private allergy tests, if your doc won't approve them.
 
If you're on meds, my husband was recently driven nuts by a BP med making his legs very sore and itchy, so as others have said, an allergic reaction might be worth bearing in mind, as well as something on the skin. I think the med concerned was felodopine (I'm guessing at spelling etc.). Might be worth spending some time with your med data sheets - although in my experience they all seem to list all the same things.
 
Hi @Alzebra

it sounds very much to me like necrobiosis lipoidica ( a diabetic associated complaint )-- i have had this in the past and the itch is a drive to distraction.
there are some other threads on the forum on this topic if you search.
 
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