title: Bacterial infections of the folds (intertriginous areas).
abstract: The axillary, inguinal, post-auricular, and inframammary areas are considered skin folds, where one skin layer touches another. Skin fold areas have a high moisture level and elevated temperature, both of which increase the possibility of microorganism overgrowth. A massive amount of bacteria live on the surface of the skin. Some are purely commensal; thus, only their overgrowth can cause infections, most of which are minor. In some cases, colonization of pathogenic bacteria causes more serious infections. This contribution reviews the bacterial infections of the skin fold areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, 34098, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: yalcintuzun@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Yalçın
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tüzün
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Unit, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel affiliated with the School of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronni
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, 34098, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engin
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, 34098, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşegül Sevim
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Keçici
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, 34098, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zekayi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kutlubay
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007402:Intertrigo / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology