Armpit Rash

[Rick M]

I have an itchy redish rash with little bumps (the bumps are now in little patchs) that started in my left armpit.  It continued for a few days before it spread to my right armpit. I have been using Cortizone to help the itching but usually it burns when I first apply it. (I think it burns because I have scratched it) It seems to be spreading slightly.

I also wanted to point out that I have had a cold throughout the time I have had this rash.
Also the rash seem to be only on the armpit area.

What can I use to treat something like this?
Is there something that could help flush out whatever toxins are causing this?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Rick:

Most likely, your rash is local irritation, not allergy.  I often see it in areas where skin rubs against skin.  Most of the time, antiperspirant plays little or no role.

My advice: apply 1% hydrocortisone (OTC) twice a day (ignore burning--it will subside.)  Cover each time with moisture lotion (any.)  If it's not gone in a wekk, see a doctor, but I bet you won't have to.

Best.

Dr. R

[Lynn]

I too have an extremely itchy rash that started out in my armpits (both of them).  It spread to between and below my breasts, inside the crook of my arms and behind my knees.  It is now spreading up towards my neck and down my stomach. It is also spreading on my arms.  My doctor felt it was some allergic reaction and told me to take benedryl.  So far no effect.

I too had a cold when this began and still have cold symptoms.  This is the time of year when my asthma kicks in so once I began couging I started on the azmacort and allegra.  

Cortizone cream doesn't really seem to help with the itch.  The itch is so bad I can't sleep.  Any other suggestions?  Thanks

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Lynn:

It sounds like nonallergic eczema.  At the drugstore, pick up some Sarna lotion for itch, and see a dermatologist for a prescription-strength cortisone cream.

Best.

Dr. R

[danielle]

I also have a rash that starts in my armpit and speads downwards.  It started in my left arm and in now under my right arm. It is no where else on my body. The bumps look like chicken pox or little zits.  Some of them are really big and itch and some are little and don't itch.  I never had a cold or anything when they first arrived.  What is it and what should I do about it?

[Neil W.]

I have a reocurring rash in my armpit(s). It seems to happen usually in winter. Starts out as an itchy, red sore - untreated it will be a yellowish oozy rash with unusually fragrant armpit odour. This is with no new shirts, different deordorant, soaps etc.
Have found through trial and error a cream called "Bactroban mupirocin ointment" will usually clear it up in a few days.
Can be 2 two 4 years between outbreaks.
Any ideas?

[joyhogue]

My husband was breaking out in the joint area around his elbows. He has not had a cold. He is miserable from the itch and it is now swelling. Help!

[Bob Woolly]

I get a rash in my armpit(s) every couple of years. At the start I notice my armpit(s) will start to have more than usual b.o. After a few days the armpit will become itchy and sore. If untreated it will develop into a red rash - rather oozy with increasing b.o.
I have found that it will clear in about 3 days if armpits are washed before bedtime and Bactroban mupirocin ointment is applied.
This condition seems to come in the colder winter months.
This is not connected to using different deodorants, soaps or wearing new clothing etc.
As this condition happens infrequently and I can now get rid of it fairly quickly I am not too concerned but would love to find the answer.

[Teresa]

I too have had a cold and have developed a rash under both arms and it is beginning to spread down my arms, towards my back and under my breasts.  It is very itchy I have a prescription cortisone cream which I have begun to use and have seen no benefit from it.  Any other suggestions??

[Mark]

I Have been reading most of eveyone's problem with rashes inside the armpit area.  I also have a problem with a rash but not sure it's a rash or a fungus.  I have the redness inside the armpit about a inch wide and two inches long but it does not itch! I noticed this a few days ago and it has not spread as of yet.  Any suggestions/solutions to such a problem would be greatly appreciated.

[Katherine]

I have a rash under my arms - little pink dots that don't want to go away - some look like little pimples.
anything I can do to get rid of this? It is quite unatractive

[Rob]

I had the same thing... first in one armpit then it spread to the other.  I tried hydrocortisone on one side and an antifungal on the other.  The antifungal side cleared up, but before trying antifungal on the other armpit I saw my doctor (for an unreleated purpose) and he did a skin scraping which he then tested with (to the best of my memory) KOH under a microscope.  Given the lack of reaction to KOH he agreed it was fungal.
--Rob

[Julie Lemm]

Two days ago, I got this intense itching in my armpits - and it is accompanied by more intense B.O.  It also came on a few days after I kicked a sore throat/cold.  The bumps are few, but one big one seemed to weep.  I'm not using any new deodorant - I don't use antiperspirant.  Will it go away soon?

[kari]

I have a rash on both of my armpits.  It's all red with a bunch of little bumps.  I've been told it could be from the aluminum in my deodorant, so I switched to a deodorant without anti-persperant, which has just resulted in me sweating more.  It's been itching a lot lately...any suggestions?

[John]

I had underarm soreness which steadily got worse and spread into a large red sore patch.I think it started originally with the use of a particular brand of deoderant which caused a burning sensation. I have controlled and now virtually eliminated it with regualr washing and careful drying together with regular use of talc.

[Red]

I not only have an itchy rash that is staining my armpit with brown skin (where the rash had previously been)but seems to inflame to the point of some kind of leakage...it is almost as if my sweat glands are leaking.  I must comment that I also have many skin tags (mole like things that I have been tol were NOT moles)and I have had these all my life..but now they even get itchy. I also have a rash in the groin area which is causing similar staining, but the arm seems to be far more itchy.
I am out of work and my insurance ran out...so some help here would be very much appreciated!

[Noah L]

My Solution:




I ran into this a few weeks ago, and if anyone reads it (as I found this website looking up the problems) I hope this can help them. First of all, I went to see my doctor about it and had a look at it. He said that either it was irritation developed from a change in deodorant, fabric softener, even soap or that it was an infection and that I would need anti-botics. However, this only applied to MY case (patches of red underneath my arm pits like zits but without white heads). If you have actual zits underneath your arm pits then it is likely that it is an infection.




With experimentation I discovered that the unlikely had occurred and that in fact I had developed a reaction to the deodorant I've been using for the past six years. (I thought at first it might have been a change in soap, but trying my old deodorant again made me break out even worse). My doctor suggested powder based deodorants, which unfortunately are usually marketed towards women; being a man I wasn't exactly comfortable with this idea (nor was I comfortable with carrying a feminine scent around with me all day).



What I have found is that using a men's talc (such as Pinaud Clubman found at just about any drug store in the shaving isle) can be a helpful replacement. It doesn't have the antiperspirant that deodorants normally have nor the kick of sports deodorants, but it covers up BO with a pretty neutral clean scent. Also I purchased some of Right Guard's body spray for some added scent just in case the talc wasn't that powerful enough. For now the two in combination seem to work fine without any problems.

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