Intensly itchy all over rash

[zaskar70]

Hello I'm at my wit's end with this rash, i've tried moisturisers, ati fungal (micanizol) creams/powders all to no avail.

I've had this rash on my back and shoulders for over 2 years now, it was first noticed by my girlfriend at the time who also assumed it was just dry skin. Since it was first noticed it has grown in size to cover almost the entirety of my back, from my shoulders down to just above my waist.

It has a tendency to "flare up" and feel really dry and intensely itchy but then it will kind of go into remission but will still be there in a faded form until the next "flare up".

During this time I have also had intensely itchy ankles that will burn after being itched, also I will get patches of this rash on my chest and abdomen that will last for months before fading, these are also intensely itchy.

About 3 weeks ago my scrotum and upper inner thighs began to itch intensely as well and as of this posting remain in a state of almost constant itchiness with what looks like the same rash on my back only its discoloring the skin a brownish color between my scrotum and my upper thighs, this is incredibly uncomfortable at night at times with the itching.

I also have the same rash behind each knee, it is also intensely itchy there as well.

Ive uploaded a picture, if anyone can offer any sort of insight into what this may be It would be greatly appreciated.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms the possibilities of eczema and erythrasma( esp of groins)  need to be ruled out. In erythrasma, the typical appearance is well-demarcated, brown-red macular patches. The skin has a wrinkled appearance with fine scales. Wood lamp examination and gram staining are the tests for its diagnosis.

Eczema is a form of chronic dermatitis (rash).Allergic reaction is one of the important causes of eczema. Allergic reaction can occur to strong soaps, Solvents, chemicals, certain foods, food additives, plants, metals, cosmetics, even urine and faeces of some animals (dust mites).
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

[stupiddumbgirlwhoshouldaknewbetter]

It looks relatively mild and superficial which is a good thing.  I see spots but no nasty boils.

It could be folliculitis of some sort.  I am not a derm but I would guess that it was fungal because of where it is showing up.

Does your girlfriend get it at all?  What I mean is, is it contagious?  If it was, I would expect that she would have it by now too to some extent.  The answer to this might help you rule out some stuff.  You don't mention that she has it so it could be an allergy or some sort of dermatitis.  If it was fungal/yeasty/bacterial it would be contagious up to a point.  It could be a skin sensitivity of some sort but it does look a little like very mild superficial folliculitis.

The real problem is that, even to a derm, it might look like a few things until you get biopsy reports back.  Bottom line, if you've had this for 2 years and it hasn't gone away yet you need to see a derm so that you can get rid of it.