Q. What treatment will help for discolored skin and red circles in inner thigh?
Hello doctor, I am a 49 year old fairly healthy male. My height is 6 feet and weight is 260. I am overweight and also have low testosterone. I have had a noticeable shrinkage in my testicles in recent years. I have embarrassing erectile issues, including premature ejaculation and often I am unable to maintain an erection. I am not on any regular medication. I do not drink alcohol or smoke. I have attached my photos for your reference. My skin is discolored with red circles on my inner side of the legs up to each side of the scrotum. It frequently itches especially after much walking. The red circles are also present just above my penis, but are obscured by my pubic hair. I am also concerned about a patch of darker skin on my scrotum. There is also a pimple or a tag of skin on my inner right leg; two smaller ones on the inner left leg and one at the top of my right leg where my pubic hair stops. They all sometimes hurt, especially when my innerwear rub against them. I have had these for years. I was in the hope that they would go away on their own, but now I have noticed a few small ones begins to develop in the same area. There is also a mole or pimple like growth between the base of my scrotum and anus. This hurts or itches when I sit or walk too long. I have not sought treatment to care of these issues before because of embarrassment. What treatment or medication might help? What do you suggest?
Hello. At the onset I would like to tell you that though I understand your concern and situation, but there is nothing to be ashamed or apprehensive of yourself. It is a medical problem and can only be tackled by proper medical treatment and advice, and not by hiding your problem from doctors. It is great that you do not smoke as it may increase your problem. According to your weight and height your BMI is 35, which falls in borderline to moderately to severely obese. I advise you to visit or ask an endocrinologist regarding the shrinking of the testicles and erectile issues as these may be related to hormonal balance or even obesity. Red circles on the inner thighs (attachment removed to protect patient identity) are indicative of fungal infection known as tinea cruris. For this, a course of antifungals is advised. I would suggest the following treatment. Consult your specialist doctor, discuss with him or her and take the medicine with consent. The outgrowths of skin are skin tags and they are usually related to hyperlipidemia. They are not harmful and only have cosmetic concerns. They are best dealt with by simple office based surgery with cautery machine requiring only local anesthesia, which is a 5 minute superficial procedure. But, they will not go on their own. You may get your fasting serum lipid profile done, which will measure the levels of cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein), VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein). If any of these are abnormal suitable, then medicine can be started. Medicine is important as abnormal lipid profile increases one's risk of cardiac events in the future. One important thing on which I cannot emphasize enough would be decreasing your weight. If you can gradually decrease your weight even by a few pounds, you would see a lot of these medical problems would get better by themselves. You may follow up after two to three weeks. Revert back after three weeks to a dermatologist online -->