[music] Hello, I’m Dr. Neal Schultz
[pause]
and welcome to DermTV.
Rashes under the breast tend to occur if the skin of the lower part of the
breast lies flat against the skin below the breast. That tends to happen at
a certain time in life whether it’s from age, gravity, from having had
children or just from the way that you’re built. Whether you know it or
not, your skin perspires all the time but when skin lies flat against
another layer of skin that perspiration or sweat can’t evaporate and
moisture accumulates. When moisture accumulates in closed areas, like skin
against skin, it promotes the growth of bacteria and other germs and that
creates odors and that can lead to infections. The most common infections
that occur in this context, on the under part of the breast, are yeast
infections and bacterial infections. To help prevent this, very simply,
after you shower treat this area with the same antiperspirant that you use
under your arms. If that’s not effective at sufficiently decreasing the
sweating, then take a thin piece of cotton material and place that thin
piece of material under and in the fold below the breast on both sides to
help absorb moisture. If you actually do develop a rash below your breast
usually it manifests as itchy little red bumps with some oozing. Usually
this is very uncomfortable. It’s probably a yeast infection and the best
way to treat it is with milk and water compresses and the instructions, for
those is discussed in DermTV Episode #15. In addition, over the counter
Mikonazol lotion applied very lightly two or three times a day, will often
help cure a yeast infection. And by the way, this may seem counter-
intuitive, but soap in these circumstances is bad- it’s not good and soap
will actually make the infection worse. If these simple measures don’t help
improve your rash then see your dermatologist for further treatment.