Foo - Annoying rash on the back of the ankle

So as the riding season approaches, I have been spending more time on the rowing machine and bike trainer to get more in shape. Concurrent with this increased exercise has been the development of an itchy red rash on the back of my right ankle. It has not responded to over-the-counter treatment of moisturizing lotion, steroid ointment or the Taclonex that I use for some small spots of psoriasis. It has not been annoying enough to spend the $ 250 for the dermatologist to take a look at.

So I decided to do some research on Medline and the Net in general. I have discovered that this is a common condition that is still largely unknown by the medical community. The two most common names are golfer's vasculitis or exercise-induced vasculitis. The two links below explain it a bit. There are also a lot of people who call it 'Disney rash' since it so commonly occurs when people take trips to Disney World and Epcot. It seems to occur most commonly in people over age 50 who are walking, golfing, cycling or otherwise exercising in warm weather.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=golfer's%20vasculitis%20&itool=QuerySuggestion

http://walking.about.com/od/medhot/a/legrash.htm?nl=1

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a lot of treatment for it, although some people suggest NSAIDS or anti-histamines before exercising in warm weather.

If anyone here has the same problem and has discovered some effective treatments or prevention techniques, please post here.

Water + Soap?

PS: Sorry man... but you know somebody was going to say it sooner or later so I might as well be 1st. :P

spray some windex on it.

Scratch it open with a wire brush and dump bleach on it.

Works with poison ivy!

have you tried baconing it?

Is your footwear anywhere near said rash?

Do you have a pic of the rash?

Is your footwear anywhere near said rash?

Do you have a pic of the rash?

It looks virtually identical to the picture in the about.com link in my original post.

Are we talking about the ankle or "the ankle, if you know what I mean..."

It looks virtually identical to the picture in the about.com link in my original post.

Gotcha. Same location?

Any sensations in the area? Burning, itching, numbness, etc?

Gotcha. Same location?

Any sensations in the area? Burning, itching, numbness, etc?

Same location, but on the right ankle, and no abnormal sensations such as burning, itching, numbness or the like. The skin appearance in the area is normal except for the rash. There was an article about this in an Australian dermatology journal. Most of the time it resolves after a few days. But when you keep on exercising, it does not really resolve.

But when you keep on exercising, it does not really resolve.
Well there's your answer. :p

Same location, but on the right ankle, and no abnormal sensations such as burning, itching, numbness or the like. The skin appearance in the area is normal except for the rash. There was an article about this in an Australian dermatology journal. Most of the time it resolves after a few days. But when you keep on exercising, it does not really resolve.

If it doesn't hurt, I'd stop worrying. It doesn't sound detrimental to your health at all.

If it's red and itchy its most likely a yeast infection especially if its where your sock covers (and the area gets wet). Products like Lamisil will help. Keep the area clean and dry and apply twice a day. Itchy/redness should be gone in a week.

My older sister gets the same thing when she exercises in warm weather. It looks just like the photos you linked. She gets it on both legs. Unfortunately she has not found anything yet to prevent it or make it go away faster.

My older sister gets the same thing when she exercises in warm weather. It looks just like the photos you linked. She gets it on both legs. Unfortunately she has not found anything yet to prevent it or make it go away faster.

So all he has to do is sit still and / or move somewhere that is cold all the time.

Like the Arctic? or maybe Antarctica?

If it's red and itchy its most likely a yeast infection especially if its where your sock covers (and the area gets wet). Products like Lamisil will help. Keep the area clean and dry and apply twice a day. Itchy/redness should be gone in a week.

I wish it was a yeast infection, since treatment would fix it. As a test, I stole some of Ms. MillCreek 3.0's miconazole and then some clotrimazole to see if that would help; it did not after a multi-day course of treatment. So I have ruled out a yeast infection. And it is not cellulitis, either. After reading the literature, I am pretty convinced it is the exercise-induced vasculitis, and I will just have to learn to live with it.

If it doesn't hurt, I'd stop worrying. It doesn't sound detrimental to your health at all.

I was most interested to see if it heralded peripheral vascular disease, an auto-immune disease, a connective-tissue disease, an allergy or diabetes. But apparently not. To quote someone famous: "It's not Lupus".

It almost looks like good ol' fashioned heat rash.

Scratch it open with a wire brush and dump bleach on it.

Works with poison ivy!

I bet that feels guuuuuuuud!! Hell, when I cut myself with my knife, I use chlorine. :)

heat rash from hot roads for me.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/My%20Health/HeatRash71408100Temp0023.jpg