Dear Doctor
I’ve developed a red rash between my testicles and thighs and towards the back of my testicles and into my gooch area. Wondering what it is.
It did itch for a while and was a little tender to the touch, and I did experience a couple of times sweating in the area while wearing tighter clothing down there which may have irritated or caused it, felt chaffing also.
Have washed it thoroughly and dried it by patting but my girlfriend who I had sxx with about a month ago says she was just told she had something kind of bacterial infection and the only symptom of hers was discharge. Wondering what this could be, please help.
Dear Patient
This condition is known as Tinea Cruris or Jock Itch.
Jock itch usually affects the groin folds, anal area and upper thighs. It can also affect the penis and scrotum.
Jock Itch Symptoms
The symptoms of jock itch include:
1. Itchy and red lesions which have a clearly defined border. The edge of the rash may be scaly or have small blisters.
2. There may also be some pain especially if the scratching has resulted in excoriations (scratch marks).
3. Acute tinea cruris lesions (new jock itch rash) are usually moist while chronic (long standing) infections are dry with a barely visible scale.
4. Long standing infections may also have lichenification (skin thickening) due to persistent scratching.
Jock itch is a fungal infection caused by fungi like Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton verrucosum.
It is not caused by bacteria though it can become superinfected by the bacteria. From the picture, your jock itch does not appear to be infected by a secondary bacterial infection. Therefore your girlfriend’s bacterial infection does not have anything to do with your jock itch.
Jock Itch Treatment
The treatment of jock itch includes:
Applying Antifungal Creams and Powders
Antifungal creams that are applied on the skin to treat jock itch or T. cruris include 1% Clotrimazole cream (Lotrimin). This cream is applied twice a day for around four weeks. The skin lesions usually clear in one to two weeks (clinical cure) but the antifungal medication needs to be applied for another two weeks to eradicate the fungi (mycological cure).
Antifungal powders are applied on the skin to keep the area dry and they include Zeabsorb Antifungal Treatment Powder.
Taking Antifungal Tablets
Antifungal medications that are taken by mouth to treat jock itch or T. cruris include:
- Terbinafine (Lamisil)
- Itraconazole (Sporanox)
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