Intertrigo and Irritancy in Body Folds
(Crotch Rot, Pit Rot)

Perspiration as well as other skin irritants (e.g. soap residue, petroleum products, sawdust, fiberglass etc) can collect in body folds and cause an irritant dermatitis.  The condition is most commonly seen in patients in whom the body folds predispose to trap moisture and irritants rather than vent to the air.  As you can imagine, service members who are constitutionally sweaty, who serve in hot, sweaty places, doing hot sweaty things or who are pregnant (figure 1) are more prone to this condition.  In addition, what starts as a simple case of Interigo may, with time, become secondarily colonized with Staph and/or Candida.

The best way to prevent interigo is the use of hygienic measures outlined above.  Strongly counsel your patient not to be overzealous in personal hygiene measures.  Recommend avoiding over the counter (OTC) remedies and harsh soaps.  If it occurs despite these measures, the use of mild topical corticosteroids (e.g. hydrocortisone or desonide cream) should be considered.


Intertrigo

Written and revised by CAPT Dennis A. Vidmar, MC, USN, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, and Department of Dermatology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD (1999).

*Additional images provided by CAPT Vidmar in June, 2000, subsequent to the initial publication of this manual.

Preface  ·  Administrative Section  ·  Clinical Section

The General Medical Officer Manual , NAVMEDPUB 5134, January 1, 2000
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, 2300 E Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20372-5300

This web version of The General Medical Officer Manual, NAVMEDPUB 5134 is provided by The Brookside Associates Medical Education Division.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy version, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense. All material in this version is unclassified. This formatting © 2006 Medical Education Division, Brookside Associates, Ltd. All rights reserved.

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