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Perianal skin has been red for months, it feels like jock itch, aloe vera helped

Posted , 3 users are following.

Mr.AloeVera
Mr.AloeVera

I'm a 23 year old male and I've been struggling with this strange condtion for months. It's a long story so bear with me.

It all started  this summer when I began to go to the gym and try to change my diet. I began to eat less rice and more vegetables and fruit. I was also eating a lot of fish and drinking more water, so I was going to the bathroom more often. For whatever reason, I began to get a lot of hemorrhoids. So I went to my doctor and got hydrocotison cream. I used it to help decrease the size of hemorroid. It got really big so there was some excess skin leftover.

Anyways, I began to use wet wipes because the toilet paper was too rough. Well once I used it and I began to get this tingling, burning sensation between my butt cheeks. So I stopped. From then on I got this strange rash that would get irritated if I sweat. I used to put gauze between them so that I could bear the burning sensation while I walked.

I started going to the dermatoogist and he thought it was fungual. So I ended up trying a cotricosteriod cream to help with the inflammation and nystatin (antifungal) cream. I also drank 2 rounds of fluconazole tablets. None of this antifungal stuff worked, but the skin does feel a little bit like jock itch minus the itching.

What did help with the symptoms was the antiiflammatory/anti-itch stuff, but its a steroid and prolonged use isn't recommended. So he did a culture of the area and reffered me to his brother, who is also a dermatologist. He thought it might be something bacterial. 

The results came back normal. Nothing strange except E. coli. He prescribed me an anti-baterial ointment, which didn't seem to have any effect, and also made me use diaper rash cream (Triple Paste/Destitin). It helped a little but I felt like the rash cream wasn't helping. What I discovered helped ease my discomfort was aloe vera.

I would prepare the aloe vera leaf and cut them into slices I can fit in between my butt cheeks. The gel the aloe exceretes while it's in there helps keep my skin moist. If it's too dry then the skin gets irriatted. Aloe vera gel has antimicrobial properties and works as an antiin. So eventually all the gel dries up and I need to use another one. I've been doing this for weeks. It has helped but it hasn't gotten rid of it. It's not as red anymore and I can last like 2 hours without anything on before the skin starts to feel different. I have no idea what else to try and I'm really worried about the summer.

It's going to get warm soon and if I can't deal with this then I'm going to have to quit my job. I hope the aloe vera helps someone at least. It has really helped me. I am praying that I find a solution to this and can live my life normally again. This has made me really depressed.

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • bob-h
    bob-h Mr.AloeVera

    Posted

    In my case the itch is almost certainly due to a nickel allergy. The worst part of a nickel allergy is that eating healthy can make it worse. Beans, lentils, nuts, etc are high in nickel. The first quart of tap water can contain high amounts of nickel from the faucet.

    I've tried palliatives like aloe, coconut oil, capsaicin, expensive internet creams but the best reduction (often to 0% itch) was from avoiding dietary nickel.

    Search for user fredthecat's posts for more details. She convinced me a few months ago, can't thank her enough.

    • Mr.AloeVera
      Mr.AloeVera bob-h

      Posted

      Thanks for replying. I did stumble across that a few months ago but I don't think that's it. Is there any way that I can know for sure? If i went to an allergist and did a patch test would it come out positive for nickel allergy?

    • bob-h
      bob-h Mr.AloeVera

      Posted

      Yes I think so.  I'm self-diagnosed but planned to see an allergist if the itch returned.  At my last bad breakout I'd eaten a vast amount of high nickel foods - lentils, cashews, whole grains, chocolate and also using a portable bidet with tap (faucet) water.

      My personal guess after trying to figure this out over the last 5 years is that pruritis ani is from either parasites (pin worms usually), allergy or over/under cleaning down there.  Hope you can beat it! 

    • Mr.AloeVera
      Mr.AloeVera bob-h

      Posted

      Ah okay. How do I find fredthcat's posts? I might try to get the patch test next week. It's crazy how much I'm struggling with this silent disease.

  • christophe07774
    christophe07774 Mr.AloeVera

    Posted

    I suffered with this condition for almost 2 years. Finally broke down and went to rectal doctor. He suggested dietary changes, a cream and told me to put a cotton ball between my cheeks (buthole). This course of treatment only provided a little relief and I still suffered for a while until I got myself a bidet attachment for my toilet. Found a cheap ($30) bio-bidet on Groupon and it is one of the greatest purchases I've ever made. I am now symptom free and I don't have to use cotton balls or medication which I have since learned can make the condition worse as cortisone thins the skin. I'm posting this in the hopes that others will find relief. Doctors should be suggesting this to their patients. Good luck.

    • Mr.AloeVera
      Mr.AloeVera christophe07774

      Posted

      Ive thought about that. I'm almost cured but it's not enough. Maybe I will buy the bidet. Could you post the link? It doesn't itch but it starts to feel like it's dry after the aloe vera dries off. I was doing really well and now it seems like I've relapsed a little, so I have to be more careful. This is so frustrating. I want to go to the gym and go back to school. 😭

    • christophe07774
      christophe07774 Mr.AloeVera

      Posted

      Here is the one I got. I'm not handy but set up was easy took me about 15mins to set up.

      http://gr.pn/2mjK2Sh

      They make a real fancy one that heats up the water too but that one is around $300.00

      I highly recommend this

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