One small Itchy spot for 6 months

Dear Doctor,
I have a pencil eraser sized spot on my back that itches intensely. It has been there at least a year, probably this itchy a few months now. It has a rough texture, if I scratch it, it scabs and heals. It is symetrical and evenly colored, just slightly pinker than skin and not raised.

I have used Lotrimin Ultra and Lamisil AT antifungal and triple antibiotic cream. It doesn't respond to either. The antifungals do give temporary relief. It is on my shoulder blade.

I am a 54 y.o. female caucasion dog groomer and it isn't impossible I got bitten by a tick, or spider, it doesn't look like ringworm. It doesn't look like the pictures of cancer. Does cancer itch? And it just won't go away.

I would appreciate your opinion. Thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It could be anything from nothing at all, to an irritated area that you scratched, to a benign growth that you scratched to a skin cancer.  Once something itches, then you can't even tell what, if anything, it was to start off with.  My advice is not to worry (it's almost certain to be not much of anything), to keep the area covered with a band-aid so you can't mess with it, and to show it to a doctor.  Bumps can't be diagnosed with certainty unless they're looked at in person.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[chrisboy224]

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