Itchy bottom - tried everything

[Soannoyingititchessobad]

I’ve been to the doctors 3 times about this, pharmacist once and googled it 100s of times. This is a sort of last resort to see if anyone has any advice from a similar experience.

for the last 3 years I have had the most itchy anus. It’s driving me mad! 2 different GPs have looked. First, when I was only 1 year or so in to the itchiness said the area looked really healthy. 2nd (2.5 years into itchiness) said she could see a small skin flap. I had also see this and it’s quite new but I think it’s because of all the itching. She gave me and anti fungal cream to try. It helps for a few hours and itching starts again so I don’t think it’s fungal as surely it would go away?

I have tried:

• sudocrem
• aqueous cream
• the honey and olive oil moisturiser recommended by menopause book I read
• aloe Vera gel
• witchhazel
• worming tablets

i have massively reduced my alcohol intake as thought that could be irritating it. I do drink coffee but not all day.

i don’t use any scented shower gels - have tried the dry skin washes, aveeno etc.

i am clean - generally shower twice a day and if I feel I need it I wash after a bowel movement

i look in mirror regularly and I do agree with the doctor- it does generally look healthy. No white patches or obviously irritated skin.

help!

thanks so much

I reckon twice daily washing AND also after a bowel movement is making the anal skin incredibly dry and therefore itchy. I have it too and do find a little vaseline is good to nourish and calm the anus. Or, I've put hydrocortisone 1% cream on thinly sometimes, which has definitely calmed the itch.

I’m sorry, I know it’s juvenile but somehow
“nourish and calm the anus” is making me laugh 😂

Ha ha!

Aloe Vera or other terrible perfumed toilet paper can set my nether regions off. Stick to Andrex Quilts. And pure cotton underwear which nobody does any more it’s all mixed with Lycra.

I saw something about that once but hadn’t properly considered it. I eat all of those foods!

Obviously people do eat those foods and are perfectly fine, but if metabolism goes wrong then problems start. I had no idea what was going on, I only stumbled across it by accident on a thyroid website (I have hypothyroidism) and there was an aha moment!

Facebook has a good group called Trying Low Oxalate - if you are going to reduce any of those foods, please do so slowly! Otherwise you can increase dumping and that's not good!

If it hasn't been said, could it be too dry? I know someone said you could be washing it too much and hence making it dry.

Check loo paper isn't scented (sometimes the cardboard tube is).
Wash with Dermol 500 instead of soap (leave on for 4 -5 mins before rinsing.
Don't overwipe or dry too roughly.
Use steroid cream for a week or so.
Continue to moisturise after steroid cream with E45 or similar.

I was prescribed some low dose steroid ointment for the outer labia which has been incredibly itchy since menopause. I used a bit on my bottom as I'd had itchiness like you for a couple of years and the ointment really helped it and things felt normal for the first time in years. I get eczema anyway so I guess I am susceptible to getting it anywhere. It might be worth asking the gp to try it. I also use emollient cream to wash the area with which if not helping as much as I'd hoped won't be doing any harm.

Timodene cream. It’s an antifungal with mild steroid. Don’t use otc steroid, it’s not for there!

I had this and thought I would go insane with it. Had it for a whole year and tried everything.

it’s finally gone although it does try and flare up every now and again. However i have it under control now.

I use dermovate steroid cream which you can get from an online pharmacy. It’s stronger than eumovate steroid cream which I’d had over the counter before. I used that twice a day, only used really gentle body wash, avoided baths with bubble bath (just had warm water) and always used wet toilet tissue to clean. and although it’s hard you have to not scratch because it’s such a delicate area it just causes the skin to break apart so easily. Try and sit on a hot water bottle if it’s driving you mad- the heat will help.

nowadays if it feels like it’s starting to flare up (every few months) I just put a little bit of dermovate on and it’s fine again

Vaseline.

Hello
you have this and it’s not good , but you need to incorporate salad into your diet and vegetables and drink cranberry juice this will help you flush out any toxins or bad bacteria from meat that has not been washed properly. Make sure that you see what you eating that is aggravating it .

I'm actually allergic to the main ingredient in worming tablets/powder - causes an itchy rash! So it might not be helping.

If you are using cortisone products, it's important to wean off them. So go from twice a day, to once a day, to every other day, to every three days. Otherwise whatever is causing the itching is likely to come back.

I want to thank you though as I have this too, though it's usually helped by equivalent of Anusol. Now I wonder if it could be eczema, as I have recently developed this for the first time in some other random places - belly button and one nipple so far (and the doc did say it's important to do the weaning when I have to use cortisone).

eczema is stress related , find out what you are experiencing, salmon is extremely good to vanquish this problem and try meditation and mindfulness exercises will help you out a lot. Try to keep away from things that are triggering you . Your health and wellbeing is extremely important.

Same, I had it for several weeks, and got a prescription of a steroid cream for anal pruritis. Cleared up quickly (I’d been using haemerhoid cream and pessaries, to little effect.)

Germoloids cream has local anaesthetic in it & will numb the area.

Have you been drinking apple juice at all? That used to give me an itchy bottom

Dermovate Ointment is brilliant for any kind of itch. You'll need a prescription though.

Yes, it’s a steroid. Works in the same way as the hydrocortisone 1%, just a bit stronger.

How old are you? This can be a sign of oestrogen decline in perimenopause

. I'd also try more worming treatment.... and an oral thrush treatment.

Has the doc done a stool test? For a wide range of worms?

And the test for thrush (can't remember how they do it)

Hey, I totally understand your frustration, I went through almost the exact same thing a couple of years ago. I had persistent itching in the same area that just wouldn’t go away no matter what I tried, creams, moisturizers, witch hazel, dietary changes, even prescription ointments. It would ease up for a short while and then come back worse than before. In my case, it turned out to be a recurring fungal issue that wasn’t clearing fully with topical creams alone.

What finally helped me was Diflucan (Fluconazole), it’s an oral antifungal medication that works systemically rather than just on the surface. My doctor prescribed a single 150 mg dose first, and then another one a week later to fully clear it up. Within a few days, the itching started to fade, and by the end of the second week, it was completely gone. It was such a relief after struggling for so long.

The reason Diflucan worked so well for me is because it targets yeast infections from the inside, especially when they’re persistent or don’t respond to topical creams. But it’s really important to use quality medication — I once tried a cheaper generic version and it didn’t have the same effect. Since then, I’ve only ordered Diflucan (Fluconazole) from a trusted pharmacy 👉 healway.co.uk/diflucan. Their delivery is fast, and the quality has always been excellent. ❤️

Try lanolin cream.
Lansinoh nipple cream contains it in a pure form.

It's the best thing I've found for hydration of an area.

Sudocreme. It works really well.