Q: Dear Dr. Ketch,I wish to use this medium to appreciate your program on TV and your Blog. I’m a fan. 

Please I have an issue that has been bothering me of late. I use to have a kind of rashes in between my pelvics and it scratches me often, I try to clean dry the area after bath but it still didn’t stop there until I started applying Sulphur ointment on it for a couple of days and the irritation stopped. 

So I stopped applying the sulphur on it. After a while, the scratches resumed again. I feel serious pain like cuts between my pelvics whenever I’m taking my bath but as I started applying the ointment again, it stopped. 

Please what is the possible cause of this and what can I do to get rid of it finally? I can’t be applying the ointment all my life. 

I look forward to your response.

A: Thanks for your kind words and for following our show and blog. If I were white, I’d blush 😀 Thank you so much.

Now to your issue, it does  sound like tinea cruris (jock itch) which is a fungal infection that can affect hair, skin or nails. I assume between your ‘pelvics’ refers to between your thighs or around your groin. It is a form of ringworm and is usually seen as a red, rash with a clear, distinct edge and oftentimes, ring-shaped. It can affect the buttocks, skin fold and inner thighs, as appears to be happening in this case.

As is common with fungal infections, this infection thrives in warm, moist environment. And so, if you sweat a lot, wear tight/nylon underpants, if you’re a man, overweight or have a compromised immune system (an immune system that is not functioning properly which may be due to some diseases or taking some drugs eg antibiotic abuse), then you are more at risk of this condition. If you have athletes’ foot (a fungal infection of the foot which may occur, for example, in people who wear covered shoes a lot), get it treated because when you’re wearing your underpants, there is the possibility of passing the infection on to the underpants and subsequently , the groin.

Ordinarily, this can be treated without necessarily seeing a doctor. An anti-fungal cream that contains clotrimazone or miconazole used diligently over the course of two weeks should produce results.  However, I suggest you see your doctor, so that the diagnosis of fungal infection (tinea cruris) is confirmed before starting on treatment.

Prevention is focused on ensuring that you keep your groin as dry as possible (if you sweat heavily, try taking a bath as frequently as possible; change out of wet clothes as soon as you can; dry your groin area thoroughly after a bath, forget the tight fitting underpants and stick with boxers or cotton underpants etc) and personal hygiene (don’t share personal items of clothing…who shares underpants or boxers, anyway? 😉 wash your underwear often)

Remember that fungal infections usually require patience to treat. You’ve got to keep using the medication/ointment faithfully for the period prescribed.

We’re in the second half of the year, people! Don’t waste any time. Go out and make those dreams come true. Y’all have got what it takes 😀

Have a fruitful week ahead 🙂