Redness And Irration In Armpits (A Tropical Malady)

[Jingthing]

Correction in title --

Redness And Irritation In Armpits

Occasionally, I get this, not sure exactly if it is fungal, bacterial, etc. but it's not fun. The area becomes very irritated and red, and rather itchy as well. Of course its a moist area naturally which makes things worse and trickier to treat.

Years ago I visited a Thai doc about this and he prescribed over the counter cream called DAKTACORT. It's a combo treatment with both cortisone steroid and I think antibacterial (maybe antifungal as well). He said this redness infection was very common in tropical Thailand.

Anyway, it works like a charm, improvement shows in about a week but you need to do it longer. Cortisone alone won't work with this condition.

Just posting in case you have the same problem and you want to save trips to the doctor. If it's the wrong treatment, I seriously doubt you will do much harm trying it out for a week. Of course, if it gets worse with the treatment, stop it!

Edited June 25, 2011 by Jingthing

[maxme]

Thanks for sharing.

[Wrong Turn]

jingthing:

Occasionally, I get this, not sure exactly if it is fungal, bacterial, etc. but it's not fun. The area becomes very irritated and red, and rather itchy as well. Of course its a moist area naturally which makes things worse and trickier to treat.

I've had something similar this year. It only started when it got hot & humid.

I've had it before.

One friends advised me to shave my armpits, because bacteria sticks and stay on the armpit hair.

I shave my armpits about every 3 weeks in the showers. It may work for you.

It also helps you maintain better body odor.

It might be worth a try for you - it did work for me.

[ScubaBuddha]

I've had these symptoms too and I can usually associate them with longer than usual periods of being wet/sweaty like after exercising or swimming/scuba diving.

Did the doctor say it might be tinea versicolor? It sounds similar. Tinea versicolor is a very common in the tropics, which I have also had. I think the armpit one may be different. Tinea versicolor a yeast fungal infection of the skin but it usually appears on the back, stomach, shoulders, and upper arms, but not usually just the arm pits. It can be lighter or darker in pigmant. It's also caused by a combination of moisture, heat and sun, which is why I and many of my instructor mates would get it scuba diving everday in Thailand. Either way, both conditions are treated the same. The various creams, and for persistent cases, anti-fungal pills. I keep a bottle of selsun shampoo (selenium sulfide) in the shower. To prevent reappearances, it's recommended once a week or so you cover affected areas with it for about 5 minutes. That keeps the yeast from growing. (The shampoo Selsun Blue has selenium sulfide)

.

Edited June 27, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[jombom]

There are many things which can cause this unpleasant experience.

In my case, incorrect dosage/rinsing of washing powder, was the culprit. The rainy season puts a lot of pressure on laundries, and short cuts are a temptation.

Solution, rinse out everything again. Buy a new T shirt to last a day or whatever.

[GarryP]

Many years ago I started to get rusty armpits, not itchy but disconcerting. To this day I have no idea what caused it, but after a week or so it cleared up on its own - perhaps my diet at the time was unknowingly high in iron . One of the strangest maladies I have ever had.

[Jingthing]

I think my condition is not the same as Tinea versicolor.

[FBN]

Jing, yours is probably tinea axillaris ; it still is a fungal (dermatophyte) infection of the skin in that area. The cortisone in the cream is only intended to provide symptomatic relief of the itching and redness but the primary treatment is the antifungal in the cream. There are several on the market but prevention is primarily keeping the area dry and some suggestions above are all helpful. Nizoral shampoo or the Selsun product helps with prevention as well.

[Jingthing]

Jing, yours is probably tinea axillaris ; it still is a fungal (dermatophyte) infection of the skin in that area. The cortisone in the cream is only intended to provide symptomatic relief of the itching and redness but the primary treatment is the antifungal in the cream. There are several on the market but prevention is primarily keeping the area dry and some suggestions above are all helpful. Nizoral shampoo or the Selsun product helps with prevention as well.

Yes, bingo, that's clearly it. Are Nizoral and/or Selsun sold in Thailand?

[jeanpierre]

i had the same years ago

i take from home betadine shampoo no more problems

[FBN]

Jing, yours is probably tinea axillaris ; it still is a fungal (dermatophyte) infection of the skin in that area. The cortisone in the cream is only intended to provide symptomatic relief of the itching and redness but the primary treatment is the antifungal in the cream. There are several on the market but prevention is primarily keeping the area dry and some suggestions above are all helpful. Nizoral shampoo or the Selsun product helps with prevention as well.

Yes, bingo, that's clearly it. Are Nizoral and/or Selsun sold in Thailand?

Yes; both is freely available from Boots and most pharmacies..

[wpcoe]

One friends advised me to shave my armpits, because bacteria sticks and stay on the armpit hair.

I shave my armpits about every 3 weeks in the showers. It may work for you.

It also helps you maintain better body odor.

It might be worth a try for you - it did work for me.

Ditto here. I wasn't able to shave until the rash cleared up the last time. I had the irritating rash several times, but since I started shaving, have had NO rashes.

[dominique355]

Especially during the rainy season with the high levels of humidity, people suffer from "sweat gland inflammation". Patches of skin become red and very itchy. Scratching makes it worse. It's not an infection antibiotics or cortisone creams won't help. There are topical creams for this condition, ask you dermatologist.