DH has had an itchy bum.... for 5 years!!

[pleasestopscratching]

That's right, DH has had an itchy anus for 5 years and still refuses to go to the doctor. He has tried washing more thoroughly, using fragrance free shower gel, no shower gel, blow-drying it (!), wet wipes, etc etc but no real lasting improvement. It itches particularly during the night and he scratches it loads (I can hear / feel him scratching). Before 5 years ago he'd never had this problem. Any ideas please what else he can try?

I asked the GP once on his behalf and she said it was "pruritus ani" but it was hard to tell if the cause was fungal or something else (can't remember now) without having a look.

Please please please can someone tell me some over-the-counter creams or remedies he could try? I don't want to be married to a life-long bum-scratcher!!!!!!!!!!!

roflmao at hecates suggestion....I could just picture the scene...

well, not anythng else to say realy....probably is funghi, or at least, well, you can get the cream over the counter I would say (Dactacort for instance) and he oculd use that and if it works wit was funghis if not...back to the drawingboard

I had a similar itch for a while last year and finally plucked up the courage to see the GP. Mine sounds as though it was a bit like gingerninja's description above . GP said it was a fungal infection. I was prescribed some Timodene cream and almost immediately it stopped. The Sudocreme, Eurax, pile cream etc. etc. I'd tried before that just aggrivated the itch.

Well DH agreed last night to go to to the GP, but I'll believe it when I see it

I'll try getting some Daktacort at the chemists in the meantime, but if that doesn't work I might just resort to Hecate's "cure"

thanks for all the advice - and shared stories!!! it's obviously a pretty common problem

PS. Does DH wear thong knickers? Er no! thankfully!

hecate!

Next time dh complains of ann itchy arse (but doesn't do anything - he has piles) I will do this.

If it were worms, after 5 yrs, the whole family would have had itchy asreholes too surely? Get some sudocrem or aqueous cream