Mud Fever, what do YOU do when your horse get's it?

My horse has a mild case of Mud Fever (caught early I think) and I've asked opinions around my barn, and nobody really has much experience or opinions on the matter other than what I already know:
Keep the area dry, clean, and put something over it to keep moisture out, as well as keep the hair shaved around the affected area.
Have you had any experience with this condition (scratches, mud fever, etc.)
Give me your opinions and what has worked (or hasn't) for you,
THANKS!!!

I found my big guy only gets it if his immune system is low, and only on his white sock. Last spring he was on the mend and still a little weak, combined with a wet pasture = mud fever. What I did was clean the area 1-2 times a day with a disinfectant, remove the scabby stuff, dry it out, put an anti-fungal cream on, then put a high percentage zinc cream over the area to reduce moisture. It took a week or so to get over the worse of it(it was quite bad), then another to completely heal up.

Everyone seems to treat this differently. This is just what worked for my gelding and myself. Good luck.

I clean it with ~1 tblsp betadine scrub in a bucket of water with a scrubby sponge and then dry it with a towel. After that I put on a thick layer of diaper rash cream. Clears up fast.

I absolutely agree with Sky... nothing better than Desitin. Just make sure you keep it clean and get the scabby stuff off.

Thanks a lot everybody, I'm sure everything will benefit not only my boy, but many others too!
And another question I forgot to ask, when I found him, today with the mud fever, his pastern (which is white too by the way) was very stocked up, full of fluids. He had been in all day, but that's the normal 12 in 12 out, and he's never ever been stocked up (if I'm even spelling that right) before, would that be something that goes with it, or should I be worried about that too?
We have a big important show (but not one I'd risk his health to be at) this weekend, and I want to be sure that I'm not going to be doing something more long-term damaging by asking him to do what I need him to.
And I ask on here, because my current vet is just about entirely useless as a dry sponge on a hot day.
THANKS AGAIN.

My gelding will stock up if he's confined in anything less than a large (large!) paddock, especially if it is hot outside. Once turned out, he's fine. Keep an eye on it, could be anything.

Just wanted to add that I use Desitin (Zinc) too. There's other brands, but just make sure it's about or more than 40% zinc (higher the better). Also the scabby stuff comes off easier, imo, if wet, and is more comfy for the horse. Betadine is excellent (I'm using it on my foot as I type - stepped on a huge rusty nail yesterday). I use it as my go to antiseptic. Sorry I wasn't more specific in my original post.

Make sure that it isn't an infection. Any little cuts can get infected (very hard to tell) and get a horse stocked up.

Also not enough exercise and it could also be weather related.

I could be wrong but when I think about stocked up legs, I think poor circulation maybe your horse bumped something/pinched something? It happens.. sometimes my fingers swell when I sleep on them lol.

Keeping the hair shaved and the sores clean applies in every instance.

Each horse is different, so the topicals that work on one horse might not work another.

There's also the risk factor of cellulitis as has been mentioned, if scratches are left un-treated.

There's a huge huge difference in treating the occasional scratches vs. chronic scratches.

Chronic scratches can require big changes in diet and living conditions.

My pasture is very acidic; it's a breeding ground for fungal/bacterial "things".

One horse never gets scratches, two get them occasionally, the fourth is chronic.

Along with diet change, I re-did his stall that included grid mats. He comes in at night, out every day regardless of weather. I change his shavings every 3 - 4 days because his urine can aggravate the scratches.

This horse also has environmental allergies and has oat/corn/soy intolerance, so he's just one big disfunctional immune system

Scratches is the Pandora's Box of equine skin issues - it can range from not much of anything, to causing cellulitis and literally putting the horse's life in jeopardy.

No matter how minor the outbreak, it shouldn't be taken lightly. Besides, it hurts/itches and is uncomfortable for the horse. It can sometimes be the reason for a really sensitive horse's foot-stomping; as I have already learned

Well with everything at work, day two is no improved, it's clean, scrubbed, powdered, and jellied to keep dry and clean, but he's very stocked up on that leg, so much that joint has struggle really bending much, and he's quite unwilling to (because of the lesions) but when I do lift it, and bend it, the skin being it swollen, looks like a bunch of rolls of fat rolled together, which I assume is typical of when they stock up, but as lucky as I am, none of my personal horses in the two decades I've had working with horses, have ever had much of an issue, at least not to this extent, so I question, is it him stocking up or is it something more like actual swelling of the joint for another reason http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m53/c_semerad/pastern002.jpg
The link attached is not a picture of my horse, but something that looks a lot of the same as far as the swelling.
The area around the scratches is also red and inflamed looking and the open lesion itself looks like the next link (also not of my horse but similar) but not quite as much open skin.
Recent image by deja224 on Photobucket
Is this all commonly associated with what I have previously described?
One more final thing, today I observed when I lunged him to search for any lameness or sensitivity, when we cantered, he wanted to swap leads in the back when his affected pastern was facing in (left lead) and would kick out to swap, he does need his feet done (my farrier did a horrid job 4 weeks ago and now they are chipping and bruised) but as of yesterday, he did not seem to be nearly as tender, could he maybe have an underlying cause like thrush or white line disease also in affect? I'm so lost hahaha

Yeah that looks stocked up. Is he sound?