Not PE related, but posted here.Itching

Considering your GF has recently been experiencing symptoms of itchiness also, it tends to suggest an infective cause. However, you have also mentioned that you have sensitivity to some soap, and this can also cause itching.

If it’s an infective cause, and common tings being common, I’d say you have tinea cruris. This is like athletes foot, but it affects your groin region. This tends to first start as athletes foot and soon becomes a problem in the groin should you not have it treated. It usually needs miconazole; anything with azole at the end of the name tends to be an antifungal cream. You can get these without prescription, but in less strong doses.

The irritation you have with soap may suggest you have an atopy to certain chemicals (are you asthmatic, are you able to wear nickel jewellery? do the buttons on jeans irritate your skin?) – This may suggest contact dermatitis.

I cannot say what you have exactly as I can not examine you for the obvious reasons.

Your doctor gave you steroid cream to remove the itchiness, this tends to help as the itching actually perpetuates the problem further, (you feel itchy, so you scratch, because you scratched, you become more itchy)

Since you have compliance issues with your current treatment, go back to your doc; tell him the steroid isn’t helping and that your GF now has the same sort of symptoms.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for the advice.

My GF did go the doctor, and the first thing they did was take some samples to make sure that it wasn’t a serious STD. She will be going again sometime next week as well to discuss more with her doctor.

Soap doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem. I’ve tried using Dial, Dove, and Cetaphil (I think that’s how you spell it). I don’t think the soap is the problem, I’ll wait to see what my doc says.

As for detergent, it’s never really been a problem for me, I’ve used all kinds, before and after I got this problem.

Also as an addition, I have serious flaky and swollen skin behind my ear. I think it might be related somehow, as I got the flakiness after scratching what I thought was a zit, then it never healed correctly. It doesn’t itch, but it’s dry and flaky and has grown quite large (It’s like I’ve got a snow-globe behind my ear, it’s that bad). I was a bit skeptical of my doctor when he recommended using the anti-itch on the back of my ear, especially when I told him that that part didn’t itch.

I’ll update again, once I’ve seen my doctor and got some kind of results.

Thanks again!

May also want to be checked out for a staff infection. Rashes can be associated with this as well. Staff is nothing to play around with.

Got back from the Doctor’s office.he told me I should use Clomatrizole, an anti-fungal. The only difference is that, instead of using it for 2-3 weeks, he said use it for 6-8 weeks.

I’m a few days into using it, I’m noticing a little bit of healing, but I’m still itchy as hell. He didn’t take any skin samples or hair samples like I really would have wanted, primarily so that we could have a definitive answer to my ailment. Oh-well, in 6-8 weeks, I’ll see it goes.

Thanks for all the advice.

From what you’ve described I would bet to say that you’ve got shingles.
I’m surprised your Doc. didn’t consider this.

What you described is very similar to what I experienced a year or 2 ago. Except that with me it started along my left leg with a soreness that lasted for about a week and then came the ever so faint red rash and the tell tail sign of shingles: that blow torch to the skin feeling. God that hurts. Shingles track along the nerve branches and can effect anywhere along the afflicted nerve branch. With in 3 days my left upper leg, left side of my sack and part of the left side of my shaft were burning.

Valtrex will usually stop shingles in it’s tracks. Some people can’t take it though. My case outside of the burning was actually very minimal. If you want to see some extreme cases just google for shingles..

They say anyone that’s ever had chickenpox is a potential to have shingles at some point in their lives. Personally I think it’s more closely related to the herpes virus than just being part of the same family of viruses, in that it’s my contention that it is contagious. I make that assertion not from any research but from what I’ve ascertained from speaking with people about it.

One of the reasons your doctor may not have considered it with you is because it’s usually something that effects older people. If he’s not treating a lot of older people then he probably hasn’t had much experience with it. But the “blow torch” feeling should have been the give away.
You need Valtrex. If you can’t get any or your tired of the doctor, try L-lysine from the health food store. That works just as good for some people. Also look in the supplements / health forums here, this has been discussed a lot in the past here.

I AM NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR, but from your descriptions I’d bet a paycheck you do have shingles.

Let us know how it turns out and good luck.

I just wanted to add that after showering dry yourself from top to bottom, head, crotch, feet, and don’t dry anything else after your feet. Athletes foot can spread to anywhere on your body including face and can cause some major problems in other areas. Just wanted to add that in case anyone reading doesn’t know.

tnatna,

Did you ever start using the medicated powder I suggested in addition to your anti-fungals? What fungus thrives on is moisture, so the powder helps keeps you dry and therefore deprives the fungus of what it needs to live.