For some people, conventional treatments for jock itch work quite well, and once it clears up they may never get it again, or it may be a long time before they get another one. However, other people seem to be more prone to fungal infections, and they can be tough to beat.
Here are some tips:
- It can take several days before you see results from anti-fungal medications. Don't expect to see much of a change in the first couple of days. However, if you haven't seen some improvement within a week, try a different medication or see your doctor. Jock itch can be caused by more than one fungus, and not all medicines work against all fungus infections.
- Tea tree oil apparently does work well for some people, but for others it can cause further skin irritation. It did not work for me when I tried it. (Also, there is some evidence that tea tree oil causes feminization in young boys, as it mimics estrogen and has anti-androgenic properties. I don't know if it might have a similar effect on adult men, but why take chances?)
- Wash with soap & water and let the area dry thoroughly before applying the medication. Or try washing with a dandruff shampoo containing either selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue) or pyrithione zinc (Head & Shoulders), as those chemicals are used to treat fungus infections. I don't know if it works against the types of fungus that cause jock itch, but it couldn't hurt. As a preventative measure against future infections, you may want to consider continuing to use dandruff shampoo to wash your groin even after the infection has cleared up.
- Don't use your regular bath towel to dry your crotch; use a separate towel, and change it frequently. Otherwise, you can reinfect yourself.
- Try using a hair dryer on low setting to get the area as dry as you can.
- After applying the medicine, apply baby powder to absorb sweat and keep the area dry. Do NOT use a corn starch powder as it can feed the fungus; use a talcum powder, an anti-fungal powder like Zeasorb AF, or Caldesene "Protecting Powder." (The Caldesene contains zinc oxide which seals out moisture and protects chafed skin from further irritation.) Continue using the powder after the infection has cleared up to prevent future infections.
- Until the infection is completely gone, wash all your underwear, pants, sheets, towels, and bedding in hot water (bleach them, if possible) and dry them in the dryer. They may be contaminated with fungus which could lead to reinfection, but the hot water and heat from the dryer should kill the fungus.
- Don't sleep in the nude. Wear underwear to bed to reduce the amount of fungus that spreads to your sheets & bedding.
Good luck!
The best med for jock itch is to tell your doctor to give you a prescription for "clotrimazole and betamethasone dipropionate cream it works great clears up in a few days
FYI: clotrimazole is an antifunal medicine which you can also buy over the counter. Betamethasone is a steroid. The steroid doesn't do anything for the infection, it just helps reduce the inflammation and dryness so that the pain/itching and flaking/redness go away. However, there is a downside to using steroids long-term; for example, they can permanently thin the skin ultimately making it more vulnerable to future infections. They can also be absorbed into the bloodstream causing body wide side-effects. Personally, I think you should try an over-the-counter cream first and only get the prescription strength stuff from your doctor if the regular stuff doesn't work.
Read this for more information:
BBC - Health - Ask the doctor - Steroid creams
With regards to what I said about tea tree oil above (also true for lavender oil), the effects will depend on the concentration of the oil and the frequency of exposure. The boys who were affected were exposed to the oil regular for several weeks. However, I've written elsewhere about my libido problems, which began a couple of years ago, and wouldn't you know it, I've been using tea tree oil soap for the past couple of years. I've discontinued use of the soap to see what will happen.
