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Itchy Patches On Scrotum, Fungal Infection, Applied Flucort And Zole-F Cream. Is This Curable?
Question: Fungal Infection On Scrotum Skin
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I stay in tropical region and I had been suffering from scrotum skin infection over past 2 years. Back in 2009, I used to travel long distances on my bike. Eventually, I had developed infection due to excessive sweating which I had ignored for some time. It gradually worsened till I developed secondary bacterial infection. I had to undergo a 1 month treatment and my doctor prescribed Flucanazole 150mg tablet, Flucort and tenovate creams. It got cured (90%) but the patches remained remained on my scrotum that were itching atleast once a day. Patches were dark coloured and were little raised, spanning all over my scrotum. An year ago, I had also developed 2 itchy white spots and the doctor said that it is a mild eczema and prescribed clobetasol cream. Aplying it doesn't seem to help much however. I still have these itchy patches (3 mm in diameter), although it does not bother me much as fungal infection does.
Now, back to the fungal infection.
I had a misture of 1:1:1:5 ratio of applied tea tree oil + clove bud oil + cinnamon Oil + coconut oil on my scrotum and in 3 months the fungus seemed to get vanished.
But, as I had again traveled overseas I stopped applying it since last 3 weeks.
Last week the scrotum skin again got little itchy and the paches were large (a quarter coin size), as if something is stuffed under my scrotum skin. So I had again applied flucort cream for 2 days (morning and evening) and then today after searching for some time in internet, I had applied Zole-F cream starting today.
My immunity is very poor, and I am even consuming Vitamin C 1000 mg, Zinc 30mg and Selenium 100mcg over last 2 months.
I even started to take 12 garlic on a daily basis between meals, and started taking 4 teaspoons of coconut oil since last week.
My question is, is this scrotum skin fungus curable? Or am I going to have it for life?
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I stay in tropical region and I had been suffering from scrotum skin infection over past 2 years. Back in 2009, I used to travel long distances on my bike. Eventually, I had developed infection due to excessive sweating which I had ignored for some time. It gradually worsened till I developed secondary bacterial infection. I had to undergo a 1 month treatment and my doctor prescribed Flucanazole 150mg tablet, Flucort and tenovate creams. It got cured (90%) but the patches remained remained on my scrotum that were itching atleast once a day. Patches were dark coloured and were little raised, spanning all over my scrotum. An year ago, I had also developed 2 itchy white spots and the doctor said that it is a mild eczema and prescribed clobetasol cream. Aplying it doesn't seem to help much however. I still have these itchy patches (3 mm in diameter), although it does not bother me much as fungal infection does.
Now, back to the fungal infection.
I had a misture of 1:1:1:5 ratio of applied tea tree oil + clove bud oil + cinnamon Oil + coconut oil on my scrotum and in 3 months the fungus seemed to get vanished.
But, as I had again traveled overseas I stopped applying it since last 3 weeks.
Last week the scrotum skin again got little itchy and the paches were large (a quarter coin size), as if something is stuffed under my scrotum skin. So I had again applied flucort cream for 2 days (morning and evening) and then today after searching for some time in internet, I had applied Zole-F cream starting today.
My immunity is very poor, and I am even consuming Vitamin C 1000 mg, Zinc 30mg and Selenium 100mcg over last 2 months.
I even started to take 12 garlic on a daily basis between meals, and started taking 4 teaspoons of coconut oil since last week.
My question is, is this scrotum skin fungus curable? Or am I going to have it for life?
Hi,
Thank you for posting the query.
You have provided with good information regarding your health concern and it is a very good description. I appreciate it.
The problem lies in your medicines which you have been using till now.The creams which you have been using are a mixture of antifungal & steroid base.
If your condition has been diagnosed as a fungal infection (esp by a dermatologist) then you should never use a steroid base cream. Steroid would aggravate your fungal infection.
But before I am convinced that you have a fungal infection, I would like to ask you few questions regarding your problem:
1) Do you have itching only on the scrotum or is it over the sides of thigh also?
2) At what time you get maximum itching(is it at night)?
3) Do you see any change in the skin texture over scrotum?
4) Are you suffering with any diagnosed medical conditions(like diabetes) ?
There are really two possibilities as far as what you might be experiencing.
One is a fungal infection (as you have been told by your doctor) & the other is Lichen simplex chronicus(LSC) .
Usually it is LSC which is seen over scrotum, but if sides are also involved then we should also think of fungal infection.
The mixture of tea tree oil + clove bud oil + cinnamon Oil + coconut oil helped you, indicates that you might be having LSC, since it is not a anti fungal mixture (instead its just a moisturizer & that's what one needs in LSC).
Since you have been treated in a combination way, therefore you have shown a partial response.
You can consider sending me a picture of the lesion, so that I can guide you better. You have a feature to upload the reports / image by yourself at the right side of the query page, please utilize that so that I can answer your queries better.
If you have a fungal infection I am sure you can be cured of it permanently .But if you have LSC then it may take a longer time to go.
If you can reply me with the answers and the pictures, I would be able to suggest you better.
Awaiting for your reply.
Regards,
Dr.Bharat chawda
Thank you for posting the query.
You have provided with good information regarding your health concern and it is a very good description. I appreciate it.
The problem lies in your medicines which you have been using till now.The creams which you have been using are a mixture of antifungal & steroid base.
If your condition has been diagnosed as a fungal infection (esp by a dermatologist) then you should never use a steroid base cream. Steroid would aggravate your fungal infection.
But before I am convinced that you have a fungal infection, I would like to ask you few questions regarding your problem:
1) Do you have itching only on the scrotum or is it over the sides of thigh also?
2) At what time you get maximum itching(is it at night)?
3) Do you see any change in the skin texture over scrotum?
4) Are you suffering with any diagnosed medical conditions(like diabetes) ?
There are really two possibilities as far as what you might be experiencing.
One is a fungal infection (as you have been told by your doctor) & the other is Lichen simplex chronicus(LSC) .
Usually it is LSC which is seen over scrotum, but if sides are also involved then we should also think of fungal infection.
The mixture of tea tree oil + clove bud oil + cinnamon Oil + coconut oil helped you, indicates that you might be having LSC, since it is not a anti fungal mixture (instead its just a moisturizer & that's what one needs in LSC).
Since you have been treated in a combination way, therefore you have shown a partial response.
You can consider sending me a picture of the lesion, so that I can guide you better. You have a feature to upload the reports / image by yourself at the right side of the query page, please utilize that so that I can answer your queries better.
If you have a fungal infection I am sure you can be cured of it permanently .But if you have LSC then it may take a longer time to go.
If you can reply me with the answers and the pictures, I would be able to suggest you better.
Awaiting for your reply.
Regards,
Dr.Bharat chawda
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
Hello Doctor,
Here are the answers to your questions.
1) Do you have itching on the sides of thighs also or just on the scrotum?
No Doctor. Nothing on the groin. It is only observe on the scrotum skin. Especially on the dark regions.
2) At what time do you have maximum itching (is it at night)?
I work in an AC room. So 3-4 times a day I get mild itching but I avoid to itch more or else it never ends.
3) Do you see any change in the texture of the skin over scrotum?
Like I said, I see dark patches (little raised and smooth and shining with a diameter around 1 cm). The texture is little rough when the skin is expanded.
When it is too cold/when the scrotum skin shrinks I feel that the itching increases a bit.
Similar is the case with the OTHER 2 white patches which I had mentioned which are on the upper left of the scrotum, and the hair on those patches turned white.
AND, the texture of the skin just below scrotum (where the balls rest) is little rough.
4) Are you suffering from any diagnosed medical conditions (like diabetes) ?
My sugar levels are normal. In fact, I have completely cut down sugar, bread, cakes, beverages, pastas, pizzas and all junk food since last 18 months.
I have applied Zole-F cream over alast 3 days (stopped today morning since I felt a slight irritation), and the patches have greatly reduced in size. Now I see few patches around (4-5 patches with 0.3 mm approx diameter).
I have applied coconut oil to smoothen the condition today.
I have checked about the LSC which you had decribed here; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000/
The images shown seem similar to my condition, but the texture on the patches are smooth, but are raised slightly similar to those shown in the pictures. But they are as large as it is shown.
Is this LSC chronic, is it curable or should I continue to undergo medication for life?
Corrective Text:
The images shown seem similar to my condition, but the texture on MY patches are smooth, but are raised slightly similar to those shown in the pictures. But they are NOT as large as it is shown.
Here are the answers to your questions.
1) Do you have itching on the sides of thighs also or just on the scrotum?
No Doctor. Nothing on the groin. It is only observe on the scrotum skin. Especially on the dark regions.
2) At what time do you have maximum itching (is it at night)?
I work in an AC room. So 3-4 times a day I get mild itching but I avoid to itch more or else it never ends.
3) Do you see any change in the texture of the skin over scrotum?
Like I said, I see dark patches (little raised and smooth and shining with a diameter around 1 cm). The texture is little rough when the skin is expanded.
When it is too cold/when the scrotum skin shrinks I feel that the itching increases a bit.
Similar is the case with the OTHER 2 white patches which I had mentioned which are on the upper left of the scrotum, and the hair on those patches turned white.
AND, the texture of the skin just below scrotum (where the balls rest) is little rough.
4) Are you suffering from any diagnosed medical conditions (like diabetes) ?
My sugar levels are normal. In fact, I have completely cut down sugar, bread, cakes, beverages, pastas, pizzas and all junk food since last 18 months.
I have applied Zole-F cream over alast 3 days (stopped today morning since I felt a slight irritation), and the patches have greatly reduced in size. Now I see few patches around (4-5 patches with 0.3 mm approx diameter).
I have applied coconut oil to smoothen the condition today.
I have checked about the LSC which you had decribed here; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000/
The images shown seem similar to my condition, but the texture on the patches are smooth, but are raised slightly similar to those shown in the pictures. But they are as large as it is shown.
Is this LSC chronic, is it curable or should I continue to undergo medication for life?
Corrective Text:
The images shown seem similar to my condition, but the texture on MY patches are smooth, but are raised slightly similar to those shown in the pictures. But they are NOT as large as it is shown.
Hi!,
Thank you for the reply,
I went through your answers very carefully.
According to the description ,it doesn't seems to be a fungal infection .I still feel the possibility of it being LSC(lichen simplex chronicus).LSC doesn't involve groins any time ,but always the scrotum.
As the name specifies "chronicus" ,the condition is chronic ,but is treatable.
You need to understand that the more you scratch the more it itches.There is a cycle called "scratch-itch " cycle which comes in to play and one has to break this cycle to be completely free from the problem.
Also when one is completely free from work and is not busy, that is the time when one feels scratchy and itchy.So you need to see that you don't scratch the area at all especially when you are absolutely free from work.You need to keep your self busy all the time .Usually such itching starts when one comes back home after the work or at night while sleeping.
Zole-F is a combination cream (steroid plus anti fungal ).I would advise you to use a plain steroid cream for at least a month and see the response.You may not need medicines life long but you have to take extra effort not to scratch the area .Along with this you can also take a oral anti-histaminic tablet like cetrizine for a month after consulting physician .
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Regards,
Dr.Bharat chawda
Thank you for the reply,
I went through your answers very carefully.
According to the description ,it doesn't seems to be a fungal infection .I still feel the possibility of it being LSC(lichen simplex chronicus).LSC doesn't involve groins any time ,but always the scrotum.
As the name specifies "chronicus" ,the condition is chronic ,but is treatable.
You need to understand that the more you scratch the more it itches.There is a cycle called "scratch-itch " cycle which comes in to play and one has to break this cycle to be completely free from the problem.
Also when one is completely free from work and is not busy, that is the time when one feels scratchy and itchy.So you need to see that you don't scratch the area at all especially when you are absolutely free from work.You need to keep your self busy all the time .Usually such itching starts when one comes back home after the work or at night while sleeping.
Zole-F is a combination cream (steroid plus anti fungal ).I would advise you to use a plain steroid cream for at least a month and see the response.You may not need medicines life long but you have to take extra effort not to scratch the area .Along with this you can also take a oral anti-histaminic tablet like cetrizine for a month after consulting physician .
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Regards,
Dr.Bharat chawda
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Radhika
Answered by
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