This sounds very similar to what I was dealing with a couple years ago.
GPS kept saying eczema exacerbated by my being fat (pissed off how much they blame EVERYTHING on being fat!)
During lockdown I finally spoke with a gp that didn't know me on a telephone appointment so he couldn't see/didn't know I was fat. FINALLY got a correct diagnosis -
Intertrigo
It's a weird "dry skin" condition that is actually made much worse by the usual treatments for dry skin (warmth, moisture) as in it needs drying out even further and cooled down. I got the right treatment/advice and within just a few days after suffering so badly for months I'd been in tears with the pain (which felt very much like a burn/scald in the affected areas) I was doing and feeling so much better.
Pisses me off too when gps make a wrong diagnosis and won't reconsider when the treatment clearly isn't working!
You cannot correctly treat anything without an accurate diagnosis
They also seem to put almost EVERY skin issue down to eczema
He's asked about a referral. They seem reluctant
This is because it financially disadvantages gps. They are not part of the nhs they are private sub contractors effectively
A lovely mner advised me recently that apparently what may help motivate getting a referral is when they refuse requests that they record that the patient asked and was refused! I haven't tried it myself yet but I plan to when it's next an issue
I have endo which went undiagnosed for 14 years due to gps fobbing me off and lost 3 babies likely as a result and had other serious issues too. When it was diagnosed via surgery following a mc the surgeon actually told me off for not pursuing a diagnosis! I told her I had bloody tried and not been able to get a referral! She was disgusted at that.
Dd has a genetic disability which again we were fobbed off for many years. Then during an especially bad flare up when I had planned to really push for a referral anyway we happened to see a locum (no financial interest in the practice) she looked at dd with genuine care, checked the history of the issues we had reported noticed some other stuff we didn't realise was linked and referred to specialist. Specialist took one look at dd and knew what was wrong confirmed by various tests. She too was angry and disgusted at how much we were fobbed off...but said it was sadly not uncommon she was quite used to seeing patients where that had been the case. With some patients this meant they ended up wheelchair bound when this could have been avoided or at least delayed.
Just for some temporary relief I would recommend Vaseline.
Sorry but without a dx it's unwise to recommend treatment.
Have you compared it to any rash photos online?
This could be useful.
Once I got my diagnosis I looked up the condition for tips and the images that came up were spot on.
Just in case you haven't considered this has he changed any products he uses that touch his skin or have any got "new improved formula" nonsense going on?
This includes but not limited to:
Laundry detergent
Fabric conditioner,
Cleaning products you use for the bath/shower
The obvious culprits :
Shower gel
Shampoo
Deodorant
Aftershave
Type things
I'm allergic to all fabric conditioner and stain removers and can only use non bio detergent.
Years back I mistakenly picked up a bio detergent and used it (packaging design had changed) have you seen that episode of the Big Bang theory with Leonard and the itchy jumper?
That was me after this incident! Wore a high neck jumper washed in the stuff agony for days!
You can also develop allergies to things you've been fine with for years! Happens to me all the bloody time!
He has been assessed by a doctor and there is nothing urgent or life threatening.
You can't know that Drs make mistakes all the time
A&E doctors will have less experience with dermatology than the GP
Not always