Red Itchy Welts on Scrotum

Whenever I use antifungals on my scrotum (Lotrimin, Ketoderm, etc...) a day or two later my scrotum produces these red itchy welts around the hair follicles numbering 3 or more which disappear on their own but takes a couple of weeks if I do not apply anything but Vaseline.  Anything homeopathy or over the counter cream that may be effective?  I currently have a fungal infection only affecting the thighs which has been present for awhile (7months on\off), not the scrotum but decided to apply the cream to scrotum as a precaution.  I went to a dermatologist who prescribed Desonide Cream 0.05 which is a mild steroid which did not help and only caused the problem to reoccur.

Multiple opinions (Family Doctor, STD Clinic, Walk-In Clincs) have all ruled out STD but have no idea why the strong steroids \ antifungals give my scrotum such a bad reaction.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The tiny welts that appear on scrotum are due to folliculitis. Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing or blockage of the follicle. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).

For fungal infection of the groins,wash your groin daily and then dry thoroughly by pat drying,not rubbing. A hairdryer is useful if you have hairy groins.The damp groin is an ideal site for fungi to multiply.Also wear cotton underwears and change them twice a day. and do not share other people’s towels.Also don’t apply topical antifungals on the scrotum and consult a dermatologist and get oral antifungals prescribed.
Hope it helps. Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.Kind regards.