Jock itch

[wonderlust]

I have a semi-permanent itching scrotum! It moves around, sometimes it's the area just below the scrotum, sometimes the scrotum itself or either side of it (groin area). I've been to see a doctor in the UK who prescribed anti-fungal creams that didn't work. I tried anti-allergenic creams that work until I stop using them (as you might expect) and I've also tried not washing the area for a long period of time (doc said overwashing may be the cause) but that didn't work either. As I got my first outbreak in Thailand I wonder if this is a Thailand-specific issue that some of you guys may be able to offer me advice on.

[Dekka]

Hydrocortozine cream??

 

Worth a go

 

if not amputate those bad boys

[Old Hippie]

Try Tolnaftate cream 1% Sold over the counter under names like Tinactin etc...This is about the best you'll get with out a prescription. Can be irritation from clothing, or allergy to fabrics... Jock itch gets worse, and I believe is similar to athleate's foot fungus, and in really bad cases, is accompanied by ring worm...I saw a lot of this in the army, as a medic, and as a sufferer. The itching gets unbearable, and raw, and sometimes smells as well.

 

Keep it clean!, wash all clothes 2-3 times in hot soapy water to assure it is cleaned out of your clothes, maybe buy new underwear. Use the Tolnaftate 1% and keep using it for a week or 2 after all symptoms disappear, and remember about washing your clothes more than once. Even outer garmets. do this, and see how it goes. It is a stuburn infection for sure, took me 2 months to get rid of a case I picked up in El Salvador...nasty stuff...

 

Josh!!! You got anything to add? any known super fungus killers?

[gene1944]

What about prickly heat powder??

 

That would make you forget the itch!

[Guest]

if the cortizone creme was working, it may be allergy or reaction to something, so"""

 

change your laundry soap, run double wash cycles with clear water, no additives.

 

stay away from anti fungal cream in a "moist area" they will kill off the good stuff and make it easy for the "bad stuff" to take over.

 

 

maybe also, make sure under clothes are 100% cotton.

[wonderlust]

Thanks for the responses. I've tried all the creams suggested and also one other that hasn't been mentioned which was a combined antiallergic and antifungal which a pharmacist suggested in Thailand and this was the most effective. Also the pharmacist suggested prickly heat powder which I didn't try but I might give it a go. When the problem started the doc was sure it was a fungal infection as there were red blotches in the groin and feet area. The antifungal creams did (eventually) get rid of the red blotches, but the itching returned and has been with me ever since. My doctor thinks it could be an allergic reaction to too much water and I agree because every time I go to Thailand with the arse hoses and the "go shower now" shit from girls the itching gets much worse. Perhaps the constant moisture from sweat and water causes the allergic reaction or as pasathai mentioned is a breeding ground for the fungi. Come to think of it I've seen antifungal powders so perhaps they would be worth trying as it would kill both birds with one stone.

[lembeh]

Problem may well be that you have two things at the same time. What is good for one, aggrevates the other, and vice versa.

As a first move, I would go either back to your original doc, and ask for a *diagnosis* and not a "guess", either that or head for a decent dermatologist (skin doc). If there is a fungal infection, a skin scrape should be able to identify it, and appropriate treatment given.

 

You may well *also* have a mild allergic reaction. Moisture etc will irritate the hell out of you. So all those creams and gunk etc will only make that worse. Get rid of your soap, or go and buy a non-allergenic soap. Either way, no scrubbing, no rubbing dry. Pat dry only. Cotton (not nylon) undershorts, boxers better. If you do sweat a lot, then a change mid day may help. I would tend to go dry, dry, dry to try to alleviate. Scratching will make things worse, so really try not to. At most a very light application (not slathering) of a hydrocortisone cream should alleviate the itch, but bear in mind the no moisture rule, and it should really only be used for 2 to 3 days.

 

Powders can make things worse (they tend to trap moisture and go claggy), but a *light* dusting may help (no piling it on again).

 

However, all that said, I really would try to get to a dermatologist. Its what they are paid for after all!

-j-

[whosyourdaddy]

"prickly heat powder which I didn't try but I might give it a go"

 

From experience you dont want to put prinkly heat down on the boys. They absolutely dont like it. OUCH!!

[ultras67]

depends how much - i kinda like it.

 

 

This may or may not be a factor but, are you shaved down there Wonderlust?

 

Does it make any difference?

[wonderlust]

I'll try and get to see a dermatologist but here in the UK that's either an expensive private or a long waiting list. Might have to wait until I'm next in Thailand. I think oral antifungal pills might be worth trying because unlike the creams there would be no allergic reaction.

 

And much as I like a shaved pussy, no I don't shave my balls!!