year long itchy armpit

hi everyone,

I have a rash in my left armpit for over a year now;

at first I think it was a fungal infection;
it was red, sore, swollen and extremely itchy,
I treated it for almost 10 months continuously with hydrocortizone and thrush cream
but every time I stopped the treatment it came back

then I went to my doctor who prescribed me antibiotics and another cream and once again at the end of the treatment the rash came back

now the rash is not visible but still is extremely itchy,
also the armpit in question has not excreted sweat for about 6 months

any ideas as to what this could be?

my own feeling is that if i could get my armpit to sweat normally again the itching would go away

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For such kind of itchy armpit, fungal infection and eczema need to be ruled out. for ruling out fungal infection, KOH examination of the skin scrapings can be done and a biopsy skin will help rule out any eczema.

Decreased or absent sweating is called anhidrosis. It may be caused in autonomic neuropathy like diabetes, alcoholism, Sjogren’s syndrome(an autoimmune disease causing inflammation and decreased secretions by certain glands of the body) and Ross syndrome(a peripheral nerve disorder) ; skin conditions like hidradenitis suppurativa ;medicines like anticholinergics, tricyclic antidepressants and some antipsychotic;genetic disorder(hypohydrotic ectodermal dysplasia) and dehydration.

I feel that a clinical evaluation and investigations are needed in confirming a diagnosis. Please consult a physician/neurologist for the same.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.