I'm finishing up my 3rd week on clotrimazole 1% for an infection on my armpits. Is this progress?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Started Clotrimazole 1% on 1/8/2024 and below are pictures from 1/8, 1/12, and 1/28
Is this progress? It was very bright red as you can see in the first pic, and it seems to be fading but a telemedicine nurse told me it should have gone away by now.
Should it have gone away faster? Should I be concerned? I'm going to keep applying for the 4th week of the treatment.
My concerns are antifungal resistance, the potential spread to other parts of my body, and the effects that clotrimazole may be having on my liver and testosterone. I really do not want to take an oral antifungal and hope this can be handled topically.
Please help, I'm concerned.
Thanks in advance
1 like, 11 replies
fern04981 napoleondynamit
Posted
I didn't look at your pictures because i've seen enough of my own. Skin fungal crud has plagued me since a major abdominal surgery in 2008, with 2 full weeks in hospital on 3 intravenous antibiotics.
YES! A fungal event on the skin should've been knocked back in less than 3 rounds of topical treatment. Not necessarily permanently, tho sometimes i'll go a couple of years between events. Sorry to say that there are now 4 areas on my body where it can show up, tho never more than one at a time. I am surprised that you've got it in both armpits at one time.
We do need to pay a lot more attention to hygiene and drying the areas affected, every single day. Some of the topical treatments call for twice daily cleaning, drying completely, and application of the goop. It's best to avoid wearing shirts more than once in a breakout, and best if all clothes touching there are made only of natural fibers. Avoiding sugar in your diet helps some folks. But at this point, i would be asking two questions:
I'm in the States and use an OTC product rather than the Rx cream: Lotrimin Ultra, with active ingredient butenafine hydrochloride 1%. There is also an Rx powder i like but it's too hard to find and can't be used near genitals. I absolutely hate that medicine has not yet figured out how to get rid of skin fungus, forever.
napoleondynamit fern04981
Edited
hey sorry for the delayed response. I was locked out of my account and it took forever to reset.
I haven't been using any deodorant. Only anti fungal creams and powders.
I recently added Lotrimin Ultra and hope this helps.
I was prescribed ketoconazole 2% cream but want to try that last because I've read bad things about the side effects (hormone disruptions). Have you ever tried this cream? If so, did you have any side effects?
This is an update pic from 2-7-2024. As you can see, the middle part seems to be getting better, but now its getting worse on the outer parts.
fern04981 napoleondynamit
Posted
You are right to avoid the ketoconazole. It is not used much in the States, nor in much of the world, due to liver toxicity. There is conflicting info about whether it actually works on skin issues other than scaliness.
Are you using the Lotrimin Ultra by itself, twice daily? Have to clean & dry the areas both times. I'd be limiting or cutting out breads, sugars/honey/molasses and most fruits for at least a couple of weeks, and eating at least a cup of the best plain Bulgarian yogurt I could find.
napoleondynamit fern04981
Posted
yeah i'm researching ketoconazole 2% cream now. there are lots of people that say they've used it completely fine, and few who say it gave them side effects (particularly Nizoral 2% ketoconazole shampoo). In the FDA docs for the Nizoral shampoo approval studies it says none is detected in plasma when applied on scalp, but it is if its applied to the whole body.
i've been trying to understand systemic absorption a lot better. i know its a function of the skin thickness, the molecule size, its lipophilicity, etc.
i'm concerned that the Derms will think its fine because of the "no systemic absorption" consensus but most of these tests have been done on other parts of the body. armpits are know for having thinner shin, larger hair follicles and more sweat glands. so i'm concerned i could experience more systemic absorption than normal, and thus potential side effects.
that's surprising that you haven't seen it used much in the states. i'm in the northeast and every telemedicine doc, PA and derm i've seen wants to prescribe it.
i'm using Lotrimin ultra + clotrimazole + zeabsorb powder (2% miconazole) to keep it dry, 2x/day. also cut out carbs, sugar, cheese & eating very clean.
two questions for you:
1/ have you seen or heard of anyone experience side effects, particularly the libido/testosterone issues, from topical 2% ketoconazole?
2/ do you think i should only be using 2 cream at a time?
thank you
napoleondynamit fern04981
Posted
also 3/ have you had any side effects from using Lotrimin Ultra related to testosterone/libido?
dan73 napoleondynamit
Edited
Hi, first off, its a good idea to take pictures documenting the treatment progress. From the pictures you posted it seems to me like the treatment is working. Is the infected area shrinking? Has the itching subsided? Are you using a cream? Given the area of the infection Clotrimazole spray might be easier to apply.
Antifungals like Clotrimazole and Terbinafine (Lamisil) work by disrupting the metabolism of the fungi. They do not kill the fungus on contact like bleach. For this reason the treatment has to be continued well beyond the point when all the symptoms have disappeared. Don't be discouraged.
Should you find that the recovery process is slow you could ask the nurse if switching to a different antifungal (like Lamisil) might be useful.
Btw, I would recommend washing your towels on a hot cycle and also using laundry disinfectant.
napoleondynamit dan73
Posted
have you or anyone you know used topical ketoconazole 2% cream?
if so, were there any side effects. I was prescribed by a derm but am still trying to work with OTC creams before trying it because I am concerned about the side effects.
Thank you
dan73 napoleondynamit
Posted
In have used ketoconazole 2% as a cream formulation. I don't remember any side effects. In fact, I had side effects from using Clotrimazole cream, which I was prescribed first.
napoleondynamit dan73
Posted
ok and it worked well? i was concerned because ketoconazole classified as an anti-androgen (in addition to its primary indication as an antifungal) and there have been people complaining about libido issues from using ketoconazole shampoo.
this really gave me pause, but i've been treating my infection for almost 5 weeks and I might just have to get over my concerns and use the ketoconazole.
so you had no libido/testosterone issues from it? how long did you use it? was it over a big surface area?
dan73 napoleondynamit
Posted
Ketoconazole cream was prescribed as a treatment for athletes foot. It cleared the infection in around 3 weeks.
Btw, I have also used a shampoo medicated with Ketoconazol. I was prescribed Nizoral to treat seborrhoeic dermatitis. However, this did not work for me. It turned out that I am allergic to the surfactant used in this shampoo.
But I don't remember any symptoms related to my libido.
napoleondynamit dan73
Posted
ok great. thank you