Suggest Treatment For Persistent Rashes On Feet And Arms

Posted on Mon, 9 Nov 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 9 Nov 2015 Answered on

Tue, 1 Dec 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Last year my boyfriend went to doctor for a rash broke out on feet well they gav him steroids that
Never really cleared it up. They said it was a bacterial infection . Well no it has spreader to his arms. Is the answer over the counter you could suggest using

Answered by Dr. Dr.Albana Sejdini Greca (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Should determine the type of bacterial infection&get it treated adequately.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I have gone through the medical history and the photo your provided with the skin rash on your boyfriend's arms.

As per your saying, if he was diagnosed with bacterial infection of the skin (impetigo), then, steroids alone won't help much. He need to take oral antibiotics (even for long time, several weeks or months) to treat it adequately together with:
- keeping the area well clean (wash with warm water and soap)
- apply betadine solution locally, let it dry
- apply antibiotic cream and cover with antibiotic dressing to treat it well

If I was his caring doctor would advise to run an examination of skin scrapping together with culture of cotton swab of the affected area to determine the type of infection and sensitive antibiotics to use.

Hope it was of help! Let me know if you have other queries!
Dr.Albana

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar