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Jock Itch Cure - Symptoms and Home Remedies

Causes

• Athlete's foot, a fungus infection of the feet that can spread to the groin area.
• contact with infected surfaces, such as towels or benches.
• Hot, humid weather.
• Excessive sweating.
• Obesity, which fosters sweating.
• Friction of skin against skin from constant movement.

Signs and symptoms

• Scaling patches on the skin of the groin, things and buttocks. Patches have well-defined edges. Occasionally small, pus-filled blisters appear.
• Itching of involved areas.
• A circular, red, raised rash with elevated edges
• Pain (if the skin becomes secondarily infected).

Jock itch can make wearing underwear or tight clothing uncomfortable. Walking or exercising may aggravate the rash and worsen your signs and symptoms.

Diagnosis

The best way to diagnose tinea cruris is to look for hyphae under the microscope, a KOH test . The skin is scraped with a scalpel or glass slide causing dead skin cells to fall off onto a glass slide. A few drops of Potassium hydroxide (KOH) are added to the slide and the slide is heated for a short time. The KOH dissolves the material binding the skin cells together releasing the hyphae, but it does not distort the cell or the hyphae. Special stains such as Chlorazol Fungal Stain, Swartz Lamkins Fungal Stain, or Parker's blue ink can be used to help visualize the hyphae better.

Treatment

Medical Treatment

None is usually necessary after diagnosis and prescription of medications by a doctor.

Medication- Your doctor may prescribe:

• Topical treatment with antifungal medicines such as clotrimazole, haloprigin or miconazole.
• Oral antifungal medication, such as griseofulvin, if topical medication doesn't bring relief in 7 to 10 days.

Home Remedies for Jock Itch

• Bathe with clear water only. Don't use soaps until the skin clears completely. Soap irritates infected skin.
• Wear loose cotton underwear.
• Change to dry clothes immediately after swimming.
• If you have an athlete's foot infection also, treat both areas with equal care.
• Apply tea tree oil on the infected skin, it is a natural antifungal.

Prevention

• Dry thoroughly after bathing.
• Since jock itch is a fungal infection apply any OTC antifungal cream, powder or spray on the infected skin.
• Don't sit around in a wet bathing suit.
• Wear absorbent, loose, cotton underwear.
• Antifungal powders or sprays may be used once a day to prevent infection.
• Wear Clean, dry athletic supporters and underwear for each workout.
• Use non-prescription tolnafate (Tinactin) after bathing if you have had jock itch. This powder recurrence.
• Avoid sharing clothing and towels or washcloths.