Whitish/discolored skin in groin area

[sam_85]

hi all....actually I live in Northern India and it has very warm and humid during this period of year....So I sweat a lot....I shaved my groin area few days back and noticed whitish/discolored skin in my groin area....before shaving I was having problem of etching but not so frequently.....now its not such....can somebody give me an idea of what is happening....??  

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it sounds like tinea versicolor. Tinea versicolor is caused by a fungus that lives in the skin of almost all adults. Factors that can cause the fungus to become more visible include high humidity and immune or hormone abnormalities.Treatment involves topical and oral antifungal medicines.
Most cases of fungal infections respond to over-the-counter products, which contain any of several basic ingredients: miconazole, tolnaftate, terbinafine,ketaconazole and clotrimazole.You can consult a pharmacist and get any cream or lotion containing these ingredients. Some of them are Lamisil, Monistat derm, Mycelex, and Nizoral.
I hope that helps.Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts.Kind regards.

[sam_85]

Thank u for answering my question, please clear this serious doubt in my mind about the HIV, is this tinea thing no where related to symptoms of HIV infection? Also along with this tinea i had a sneezing and runny nose which stopped after i took one anti allergy tablet, also there was a very small mouth sore which occurred during the same period, I just had a blood test before all this happened and is worried about the syringe that was used. Please provide guidance being a doctor u r the right person for it. And also that whitish thing is over but the etching occurs sometime, is it due to the V shape undergarments that i m using?
Please help!!!!!  

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Tinea versicolor is not related to HIV and is usually found in warm and hot climates. The sneezing and runny nose are not related to it and can be due to allergic rhinitis. Antihistaminics or anti allergic tablets which you took are the best treatment for this. If you are suspicious about the syringe used for blood tests ,you can get tests for HIV done. Although the early symptoms of HIV are fever, nausea and vomiting but in some cases a sore throat, cough, a rash and/or swollen lymph glands may also be present. So confirmation is only done by specific tests for HIV like western blot, PCR and ELISA. These tests may show accuracy after 6 weeks to 6 months as HIV antibodies take time to develop in the body. My sincere advice would be to consult a physician.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.

[sam_85]

Again a sincere thanks to you for answering my question, So this whitish colored skin/rash/tinea is therefore no where related to the rash that occurs in case of HIV, am I right? Also I went to one dermatologist he told me that this tinea is the jock etch or tinea cruris please throw some light on this, also this kind of tinea is also not related to HIV if I am right again? Also now after a month time done i still feels itchy on groin area along with that whitish colored skin, I didnt took any medicine except that microderm powder which is anti fungal. Also I need to tell u that my weight has increased by 10 kgs making me overweight by standards in last 3 months is that anywhere linked with this?
Please suggest, sorry to bother u again and again?
But i must say that you are doing a great job.      

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Tinea versicolor and tinea of jock itch are fungal infections but are not related to HIV. The only relationship being that in HIV or AIDS, the immune system is compromised and hence there is an increase in opportunistic infections or fungal infections. For the fungal infections, use the earlier mentioned treatment and if the symptoms persist then please get oral antifungals prescribed. For HIV testing, we cannot confirm or deny it without investigations.

Take care and God bless.