Mild Chronic Dermatitis

[pedo]

I have redness that occurs on the top of my penis shaft from time to time.  I have seen the local dermatologist and we did a biopsy.  The results were signs of mild chronic dermatitis.  Is there anything I can do to help this, seems the steroid cream helps but 3 to 4 days after I quit using it I get really red again.  If the path lab showed nothing else should I get another type of test for anything else that might cause such things.  

Thanks in advance

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction to something that irritates the skin and is manifested by one or more lines of red, swollen, blistered skin that may itch or seep.Dermatitis is a general term used to describe inflammation of the skin.
Contact dermatitis can occur on any part of the body, but it usually affects the hands, feet, and groin.
Chemical irritants that can cause the condition include:chlorine ,cleansers, detergents and soaps ,fabric softeners .
If the origin of the irritation has still not been identified, a dermatologist may perform one or more patch tests. This involves dabbing a small amount of a suspected irritant onto skin on the patient's back. If no irritation develops within a few days, another patch test is performed. The process continues until the patient experiences an allergic reaction at the spot where the irritant was applied.
Treating contact dermatitis begins with eliminating or avoiding the source of irritation. Prescription or over-the-counter corticosteroid creams can lessen inflammation and relieve irritation.
Oral antihistamines are sometimes recommended to alleviate itching, and antibiotics are prescribed if the rash becomes infected.
ref:http://www.myonlinewellness.com/topic/topic100586709
Fungal infections or some type of eczema may cause similar symptoms.

[pedo]

OK, thanks, I guess I just would feel better knowing if the biopsy would pretty much eliminate any other issues.  He specifically said he did not feel like it was any STD and the path report showed no signs of that as well.  Would a biopsy give enough information to say that is a fact?

I feel like I make the situation worse by worrying about it......confidence that I am dealing only with a type of dermatitis or eczema would be re-assuring and I feel like I have that confidence based on the biopsy but still have a doubt for some reason, not really sure why I guess it is just human nature.

Would being without the steroid cream cause symptoms to gradually worsen?  Almost as if the body gets used to the cream and has a reaction when it is not there?

Thanks again!

[pedo]

Would anyone like to comment?

[pedo]

Would you be able to answer any of these questions?

[willy851]

I have it on my scrotum. I don't feel it's minor, I may as well have brain cancer. It will never go away and the only treatments are a joke. I know people with psoriasis all over their body and it doesn't bother them as bad as eczema. They only get it in the winter and only when they are stressed out. This has been torturing me for over a year and has destroyed my life. Of course I can't get a doctor to say what it is. I even went to a university hospital. I saw a teem of dermatologists who brought in other doctors for another opinion. My skin burns, it doesn't itch. It hurts sometimes, but always looks normal.

[pedo]

I guess we cannot let it ruin our lives but learn to live with it.  I am doing my own testing and I am starting to link mine back to the cholesterol medicine I am on.  I had been taking crestor for many years and where I worked switched insurances.  Needless to say the new insurance did not see it fit to pay for Crestor and I was switched to Simvastatin.

I used to never think anything of it but I did not have any of these problems prior to taking this new medicine, I cannot get any doctors to confirm this could be the problem so I chose to quit taking it myself.  Seems like I do not have any problem when not taking the medicine.  

Anyone know if meds could make something like this worse.

BTW, I hope they figure out yours and get you fixed up.  It is miserable living like this!!

[Spider99]

I am begining to suspect the 10 mg crestor that I take daily fis maybe causing genital itching.

I am thinking about switching to a much lower cost Pravachol, actually I think the genric form is 10 bucks for 90 days at wlamart.

anybody feel that crestor may be a cause for genital itching? More specifically has anybody out there stopped taking Crestor and have that itching go away?

Or did anybody switch from one to the other and do it have an affect on the itching?

[Spider99]

just a note on the above problem of genital itching.  I tried something yesterday that seems to help a lot.  I got some Desenex powder for atheletes foot and used it on my groin area at night and in the morning. It has really helped already and so far I have not had any itching at all. maybe its not the Crestor.  I may post an update, if anybody is interested.

I am still interested if anybody switched from Crestor to another less exepensive statin. I am looking at the generic form of Provachol. Is there any problem on your sytem, liver or side effects -  if you switch from one to the other?

[Spider99]

If anybody cares. I have applied that desenex athelte's foot pwder on my "itchy balls" and it has helped greatly. I haven't had to scratch the itch since then its been a day now..  You know I went to 2 stores to see if they sell it for jock itch, but they do not. They sell expensive ceams in small tubes or spray cans. I would suggest to do yourself a favor and go for the talcom type powder with the active ingredient for fungal. Desenex has it for atheletes foot. suggest to apply liberally.

But here's the thing. Why do not they carry tt for jock itch? My theory is that the posder works the best so they want you to buy the small tube of cream so maybe you need to buy 2 or 3. Well, if anybody cares about how to fix itchy balls this will close my contribution unless you have any experience with changing statins/ Thanks for caring/