Persistent rash on undercarriage - what IS it, and steroid creams...

[ohtheindignity]

Have name-changed...well, you would...

Have had a horrible itchy rash for nearly a year on and off, from the top (sorry for level of info) of my arse crack right round to the top if the front, IYSWIM.

HAve been prescribed steroid cream, it worked on and off, but mainly off, so have now been prescribed something stronger.

Is it not good to use steroid cream for ages though? And wouldn't it be better to find out what's causing it and treat that?

Has anyone had anything like this, and do you know what it is/how to get rid? Thanks!

[ohtheindignity]

Please someone talk to me - don't make me volunteer to get my nether region out on Embarrassing Bodies. (Why, oh why do people do that?!)

[BellaNoir]

This might be a daft question but when you saw the GP who prescribed the steroid cream, did they not say what they thought the rash was?

[gigglewitch]

er, is it presumed to be eczema then?
anything to do with shaving ?

[puffylovett]

ask for it to be swabbed - it could be thrush ? In which case you'll need an anti fungal cream

[howtotellmum]

Have you tried usual self-help measures like non bio washing powder, ditching anything scented ( panty liners), and bubble baths etc?

You could try Sudacreme for nappy rash which seems to work on lots of skin things.

If I were you I;d go back to GP and ask for referral to a dermo or a gynae.

You can use steroid creams long term if used carefully, but sounds as if you need a diagnosis first.

[ohtheindignity]

Thanks for the replies - have only just seen them!

OK. The GP who originally prescribed the cream didn't tell me what it was/what was causing it and I was too to ask having just exposed entire undercarriage and had a piles inspection...She did take a swab at the time but I haven't heard anything about it.

Nothing to do with shaving, have abandoned the topiary since having DC2 last year...

I did initially think it was thrush and kept treating it as such but no. It's just so damn itchy, and I worry the steroids might be making the skin really fragile.

Might go back and ask for a referral if it doesn't go - am sick of it.

Thanks for the replies.

[Mumsnut]

Have you looked in a mirror? If white patches could be lichen sclerosis.

I would ask to see a dermatologist anyway: they know much more about skin than GPs. Good luck.

[ohtheindignity]

Def not VD unless DH has been up to no good, and I would stake my life on that not being the case. HAven't looked in a mirror, I will...Will give a week and reasses. And will google lichen...

[howtotellmum]

If it's eczema and located only there it must be contact dermatitis- which makes me think something is causing it- are you wearing coloured undies, or have you changed your washing ppowder?
It is unusual to get eczema in one place alone- ( we are an ezcema expert family!).

Are you wearing cotton pants- so it's not a sweat rash?!

Def. give the Sudacreme a go- it is meant for eczema aswell as other kinds of rash.

[WhoDidThat]

Sweat rash seems like a high possibility - once it is established then it can stay for agesand ages. I had this under my boobs for about a year and the GP gave me a steroid cream and a talk on how these things appear in "moist" areas and then just linger . I decided to get rid once and for all by basically nipping off to the bathroom about 6 times a day and having a wipe down with a cool flannel and then drying off completely and then putting on the cream each night. It was gone in about two weeks and I have kept it away ever since.

I never thought I was a particularly sweaty person, but there you go, I am sure that is what it was.

Also, not massively practical, but if you can leave the affected area exposed to the open air it will probably help - at least at night in bed if you can't during the day!

[CarGirl]

It could be a strep A infection when dd had this it was sore, cracked/peeling and they kept insisting it was thrush.

I'd go back and ask for a swab, in fact I'd go to your local clinic for STDs etc (sorry can't remember the name of them) as they will give you the full works.

[ohtheindignity]

CarGirl - have just googled and got this. Oddly enough, whilst I've had the rash for nearly a year I have this week developed a sore throat, headache and earache. Will be going back to the doctors on Tuesday - or do you think it's more urgent and should I try for help this weekend?

(also had it when DS was born, he came out with a weepy eye and we were both treated for thrush, him oral and me on my nipples, could that be related?)

Am also now bricking it having read that bit about flesh eating bugs...

[CarGirl]

it will only kill you if the strep A gets into your blood stream via a cut or c-pox blister etc!!

there is one photo here www.skinandaging.com/article/1106

[howtotellmum]

It could be thrush but you would expect to have some kind of discharge- even just slightly.

Whatever is the cause, try wearing (long) skirts and leaving your knickers off!

www.sudocrem.co.uk/what-is-sudocrem.html

[CarGirl]

dd has strep A for over a year before they diagnosed it (via a swab) again they treated it as thrush with canestanHC which sort of helped but never got rid of it........

[norksinmywaistband]

I would second lichen sclerosis.
I have just been diagnosed with this after 18 months of hellish itching.
Started with pinprick/little spots vvvv itchiness which persists.
I have some mildly white patches, but nohing I would have noticed without the gynae showing me them in a mirror during my examination

On special steroid creams at the moment, but it can reccur

[CarGirl]

basically get a referral and some swabs done in the meantime!

[SalVolatile]

Bloody sure it is what my sister and dh have had in the past - used to be called dhobie itch and is a straightforward fungal skin infection. There is a specific anti fungal cream you can be prescribed for it as canestan wont touch it: its basically athletes foot in another damp crevice . NOT serious, honestly, and goes as soon as you get the right cream, and sometimes, oral anti fungal meds to back it up.

[linserella]

Yes, Lichen Sclerosis. Weird, I've just posted on this moments before i read this, was diagnosed by gynae in April but been on the steroid for symptoms for well over a year... def get a referral to a gynaecologist or a dermatologist, they'll know more. A lot of GPs don't have a clue about this and there has been v little research into it. Good luck

[LackaDAISYcal]

do you wear thongs/g-strings?

I used to get a horrible rash that sounds similar and after months of it coming and going and being really sore and itchy and all sorts of creams that worked for a bit but then it came back, I read an article in a magazine about someone with a similar rash who gave up on thongs as they had developed an allergy to knicker elastic. sudocreme and canesten used to clear it up best though.

I thought it was worth a shot and swapped to shorts types and it cleared up and has never come back......unless I wear a thong.

[ohtheindignity]

Well, after reading that page I linked further up I freaked out and called the out of hours doctor. (I bet they love google and the self diagnosis patients!) But I had/have about 4 of the symptoms at different times over the past year and started to get freaked out.

Th doctor didn't think the rash was streptococcal but I'm still not happy that I have to live with this day in day out so am going to go back tomorrow and ask to see a dermatologist. Will ask about the lichen thing too as that sounds like a distinct possibility.

[Kayteee]

Try sitting in a salt water bath regularly and letting it dry out thoroughly. Or, dab the said area with salt water on cotton wool.

Use a lot of salt. It might sting at first but it's worth a shot. I have used this method over the years for all sorts

Good luck, you poor ol' sossidge

[engelbart]

much sympathy ohtheindignity, I suffered for about 2 years with itching around the ahem buttock area. I tried every cream going and must have seen every gp in my practice who all checked for piles, fissures, thrush etc. Eventually I got referred to a dermatologist who said I should stop using bath/shower gel and only use aqueous cream. Did this and amazingly no problems ever since. Dermatologist said that sometimes these things happen- one day your body reacts to a certain chemical which you may have been happily using for years (like in a soap or shower gel) and once you start itching it stats a cycle which is tricky to break.

Hope you get this sorted soon, I remember well how bloody awful it was when I was suffering.