To have a face to face doctors appointment for this?

[itchyelbowsandswollenankles]

I have a patch of what I think is eczema on my elbow. It turned up in the last heatwave and was a small dry patch on my elbow. It’s grown over the last three weeks and it’s now quite big, red and itchy.

I filled in the e consult for my doctors surgery and it’s given me a face to face appointment this afternoon in case it’s anything more serious. I’ve obviously had to tell my boss to book it off, and she’s said she thinks it’s ridiculous to see a GP over something so minor!

AIBU to have booked this?

I would try HC45 cream and not sudocrem or even E45 as sometimes those can irritate rather than sooth eczema.

Okay. I’m going to see what the doctor says this afternoon.

You have been given a face to face appointment because your description merited it. A few years ago nobody thought twice about making a GP appointment for something that wasn’t clearing up on its own after several weeks. You would have called and perhaps been given a non urgent appointment for the following week or maybe a bit later. Now people are second guessing themselves because, if my GP surgery is anything to go by, it’s (1) Start calling as soon as the surgery opens. (2) Spend an hour trying to get through. (3) Explain your private symptoms to a non medically trained person. (4) Await phone call from GP, who will diagnose you over the phone, or await phone call from receptionist saying you need to see a doctor and that it has to be that day. Which either makes you panic because your symptoms must be something life threatening OR makes you feel guilty because, now you come to think about it, the problem really isn’t that serious and you might as well wait and see if you drop dead from it. This whole ‘same day’ thing, and not being able to make a non urgent appointment for next week or next month, is utterly ridiculous.

Yeah when you think of it it’s insane to feel guilty. Ten days ago a same day appointment was the standard.

For sure.
Boss is a biarch.

Your boss is a dick.

Honestly it’s none of boss’s business and if the doctor gives you an appointment then you take it! Likely they’d need to see it in person to diagnose. The pharmacy is a good first option but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to go to the GP.

My bet is it’s probably fungal.

Both my mum and me developed psoriasis in middle age, so it can happen.

However, the probable reason they want you to attend surgery as so they can take swabs to test. It could be eczema, psoriasis, a fungal infection or a bacterial infection like strep. They need to see what grows in the lab. In the meantime the GP will give you something to start treatment, depending on what they consider most likely while they wait for confirmation or otherwise from the lab. At least something to calm the itch - maybe anti histamine.

Pharmacies cannot test like this which is why they would just have sent you to the GP.

The e-consult probably took into account the rate of growth as well.

Have a great time at the wedding.

I just want something to stop it itching, it’s driving me mad. Every time I look at it it’s grown

@itchyelbowsandswollenankles an ice pack can stop the sensation of itching.

Hydrocortisone might help stop itching. I’d try that and see what happens tbh. If not maybe Caneston as it looks a bit like ringworm to me. Doctors are shite at skin conditions ime but see what they say today.

I’ve had it resting on an ice pack but it’s such an awkward place, and it’s my right arm and that’s the one I use! I leave work in just over an hour so I’ll just put up with it for now

Also try taking antihistamine - sorry if you already have and I’ve missed your post.

Exactly this. I'm impressed by GP response. My husband has a history of melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma, former is nasty, latter can be. Hoping it's nothing more serious OP. Your boss is out of order

Maybe let your boss have a word with the GP to let them know that it's definitely not serious. I'm sure they'll be grateful for her wisdom.

Omg, take it up with her GP if it’s annoying you that much!

The GP wants to examine it, so it doesn’t matter what you would or wouldn’t have done, does it?

It does look fungal so I would have tried some canesten on it, if that didn't help then hydrocortisone before seeking GP input. Both easily bought at the supermarket or pharmacy. There's even a combined cream that you can buy over the counter at the pharmacy.

I'd probably have thought the same as your boss TBH, but would not have said it out loud.

Congrats on the weightloss! Hope the diagnosis and treatment take effect quickly.

To be honest I’ve no idea how to tell if it’s fungal or not, and because I have a wedding on Sunday I don’t want to risk making it way worse by slapping random creams on it!

Your boss is a dick.

Also see herald patch https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pityriasis-rosea/ Unbelievably itchy.

My son’s eczema flared up in this heat - an over the counter steroid cream I got at the pharmacy cleared it up overnight. Was delighted as had thought we’d need a GP appointment for a stronger cream.
It really does look like an unnecessary appointment but it’s also none of your boss’s business.

But presumably you know it’s eczema so know how to treat it? From this thread alone I’ve been diagnosed with multiple different conditions and each one has different treatments!

I personally would have tried going to the pharmacist first, just because GP appointments are difficult to get at my surgery and I wouldn’t want to be fobbed off.

But it sounds like OP has tried different things and it’s getting worse.

The GPs job is to diagnose things.
You don’t have to be on deaths door to deserve a GP appointment.

I think it’s fine for OP to go and have this seen to.
We shouldn’t feel guilty for getting minor things checked out if they’re getting worse.

GPs won't see you unless it meets a certain threshold, so seeing as they've assessed the e-consult as requiring a face to face appointment, maybe people on this thread can stop telling her she's wasting their time.

What confuses me is that multiple people have confidently said it’s something, but they’ve all been different answers! So surely that warrant a GP appointment

It looks like psoriasis to me. I had exactly the same thing on my elbow when I was 57! First sign of psoriasis. Do any of your family members have it? I was asked this question and didn't know. Turns out that my brother has it from childhood.

Your boss shouldn't be questioning you about this appointment. Go and get it checked.