Jock itch

Jock itch with a rash

Jock itch is usually an itchy rash in the fold of skin in the groin. In men, the skin fold beneath the scrotum is often affected as well, but not the penis. Usually the area is red and slightly scaly. It usually has a sharp border, demarcating it clearly from the unaffected skin. If you look closely at the border, you may see small pimples. The rash spreads outwards and, as it does so, the centre may clear. Both sides are usually affected.

This is sometimes known as ‘sweat rash’, but it is not caused by sweat. The actual cause is a tinea fungus – the same fungus that causes athlete’s foot. In fact, jock itch is probably ‘caught’ from your own feet. Check between your toes for the red, scaly appearance of athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot is very common in people who do a lot of sport, because it is easily caught from the floors of communal changing rooms and showers.

What to do

Although sweat does not cause the rash, the fungus does thrive in warm, moist, sweaty conditions, so you can help yourself by:

not wearing tight underpants
wearing 100% cotton underpants instead of synthetic fabrics
drying yourself carefully in the groin and around the testicles after bathing or showering
losing weight if you have a paunch
looking after your feet to avoid athlete’s foot (look at the section on sweaty feet.

Fungi also thrive on skin that is slightly damaged. Skin damage is commonly caused by perfumes in soaps, shampoos and shower gels, and enzymes in washing powders. So you can help yourself by:

washing with an unperfumed soap
if you wash your hair in the shower, not letting the foam run down your body into the groin creases
not using ‘enzyme’ or ‘biological’ washing powders for your underpants.

These self-help measures will discourage the fungus but probably will not eliminate it, so see your doctor for an antifungal cream.

Jock itch without a rash

Sometimes the groin area can be very itchy but there is no rash to be seen. In this case, a fungal infection is unlikely. Probably your skin is very sensitive to soaps and perfumes, so follow the advice above and look at the section on itching.

Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated: Saturday, February 13th 2010

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Comments on this article

Posted by pete on 10/06/2010 at 04:16:28 pm

I'm treating this now for a few months with micanozole ?? an aerosol and a powder - and washing with the right ph soap. and without irritating the area at all - and if I don't shower and treat every day, it comes back. I could lose 10-15 lbs which is difficult because I can hardly walk from stenosis and neuropathy. but I'm wondering will this go on forever or does there come a point where it goes away??? thanks.

Posted by Optional on 23/05/2010 at 12:54:36 pm

thankyou very much

Posted by successfuladvice on 04/02/2010 at 08:04:00 pm

Anti-fungal medication can sometimes be so dangerous that bloodwork needs to be monitored. Try these methods, they have worked for many family members. For 'jock-itch', in the US, get over-the-counter Lotimin AT spray. It stings at first, but guaranteed to work in 7 days and I have seen it. We told our doctor about the success in 7 days but she wouldn't consider it for others. I guess no $ involved. For athlete's foot, a slow but sure way is Tea Tree oil and/or Vick's Vapor Rub. I believe the menthol is antibiotic and the cream/oil suffoctes the fungus at any rate, I have seen results, but nails take a long time to grow out. Watch for a healthy pink nail bed first. Look these methods up online. They work AND won't kill you like the meds.

Posted by Anonymous on 12/04/2009 at 10:17:00 am

is it contagiuos while having sex ?

Posted by R on 09/04/2009 at 12:43:00 am

Wow this is my exact situation. I'm very clean person with nice smooth skin and have been complimented on it to, but I have "athletes foot" and my right big toe's nail is disgusting (black) and plams of my feet get real dry. I used cocoa butter to cream to try and keep them moisturized. Also I noticed recently between my legs a dry patch of skin with discoloration that would get flaky after some hours after a shower, but it didn't itch at all though. I have just recently been taking Fluconazole pills 300mg/wk for my feet for the past month and I have also been using nystatin-trimacinolone cream for the "jock itch". I have two questions.First, will my skin color on the patches between my legs turn back to its orginal color/tone? I'm darkskinned and since I've been using the cream the patches have turned real light. Secondly how long could you estimate the athletes foot will take to clear up from what I've told you so far? So I could finally show my feet off without shame. Thanks alot