Red Scrotum Syndrome and anxiety question

[Jasons4330]

About three weeks ago I noticed my scrotum was bring red. The only skin involved was the scrotum, the strip down the middle was its normal color.  It was not a rash just bright red pigmented skin, it did not itch, it had a slight burn every so often so I can live with it.   I also had a classic case of jock itch, I work out alot, sit around in sweaty compression shorts and the folds on both sides of my groin became red, itchy and scaly.   I went to my doctor who prescribed me 100 mg of Diflucan for 7 days and gave me a prescription anti fungal cream which seems to be working on the groin skin fold problem.   I applied this cream for three days to my scrotum and realized that the problem on my scrotum may not be fungal at all.    Alittle back ground on myself in May of this year I did something completely out of character and had a drunken fling with someone I did not know.  The condom broke and for almost 6 months now I have dealt with an huge amount of anxiety, guilt and paranoia over std's. I am also a severe hypochondriac and suffer from OCD.    I have been taken a 7 week IGG test negative for herpes and also a 17 week IGG test which was negative.  

This red scrotum came on at about 5 and a half months since this encounter and in researching it It seems there may be some connection to red scrotum syndrome psychological distress.  Can anyone confirm this ?

Also I have red the best treatment for this is no treatment at all is this also correct?

Has anyone had any luck working with a psychologist in relieving these symptoms ?

Thanks in advance

[rss183]

RSS has a different name and it does have a solution: Scrotal Neurodermatitis.


1. Started with red skin and red small dots on my inner thighs
2. It looked like a regular infection from sweat.
3. I’m a runner and usually get this on my chest and rarely on my crotch.
4. I used Canesten which has always helped.
5. The red skin on my thighs got better during the first 2 days.
6. On the 3rd day my scrotum got very red and itchy
7. I put canesten on my scrotum and showered with antibacterial soap (BIG mistake)
8. I suspended canesten and antibacterial soap after 1 week.
9. I started missing sleep, I would wake up at 2am with my scrotum in flames.
10. I started reading blogs online, the online pictures looked exactly the same, the symptoms were just like what I had.
11. During the day it would be ok, but at night it was just awful.
12. I remembered a special soap that a urologist suggested to treat/avoid human papilomavirus from developing (I have it and my girlfriend developed it) in men if we have a good higiene we should be ok.
13. I started using this soap, this is in Spanish since I’m in South America: “Saforelle Fem – Bardana Dinafitoles” is the commercial name.
14. This soap is sold in pharmacies over the counter, it’s liquid and makes foam like a regular soap.
15. The soap helped a lot, I showered my scrotum and legs twice a day with this and it just alleviated the itch and redness for about a week
16. One day I thought I was completely cured so I thought I had found the cure, however I was wrong, that night was one of the worse.
17. The itch was different, it was like electric shocks on my scrotum, I didn’t scratch even once cause I knew that would just make it worse… but I could feel the electricity… like this tingling feeling. If I could draw it, it would be like an electric feel/lightning on my balls.
18. That day I got no sleep, I took a shower at 3am with the soap I described before and that helped somehow.
19. I spent hours that day online, reading. I was ready to go buy antibiotics and get a doctor’s appointment that morning… but I had never looked up this issue in Spanish (usually there’s more info on anything in English than in Spanish) but I gave it a try.
20. There’s less info in Spanish, however there’s a different perspective of this issue. They relate the RSS to Scrotal Neurodermatitis.
21. Dermatologists who find these symptoms send their patients to psychologists/psychiatrists.
22. It immediately made sense in my head. This is not a skin infection, or anything you can treat with antibiotics… this is all in your head.
23. I had a very rough break up with my exgirlfriend that really messed up my head, I became very anxious.
24. I would say I had been experiencing something I would call sexual anxiety, like thinking too much about sex, and I knew it was all related to this past experience with my ex that was not solved.
25. So since that day, I have kept on showering with the soap above, and meditating, letting things out of my head, facing my past, looking at women with respect, letting the anxiety out… and this has been the answer for me. Sometimes I feel the tingling on my scrotum and I just relax and observe my mind and it calms down.


So in a few words:

1. I got a regular skin infection from sweating.
2. I used Canesten and antibacterial soap, I got an awful rash on my scrotum which weakened my scrotum skin and created the right environment for Scrotal Neurodermatitis.
3. I stopped the scratching and started using “Saforelle Fem” soap helped cure the skin and infection, which alleviated the itching.
4. I would say RSS is actually Scrotal Neurodermatitis which means it will cure when the issues in your head are solved.
5. Look inside your mind and you will find the answer.

I have not seen a doctor or psychologist but I do believe in the power of the mind… it’s very powerful to do amazing and beautiful things, but it can also work against you. Read more about Scrotal Neurodermatitis, the answer is there.

I really hope this helps you all out there. Good luck, you are not alone.

[naturalcurz]

I have the same redness from time to time it's also itchy. To cure the itch is easy with ebson salts or/and tea tree wash but the redness seems to persist. I have exceema so I guess you just have to let life run it's coarse sometimes.

[NJRED10]

I have had this problem I believe to be RSS for 18 months. First I thought it was hernia related then I thought it was result of a kidney stone I passed but I am now in the camp that it is a deviant herpes or a stress related neurological trigger. I have been tested twice for HSV2 and both negative, never a breakout of any kind. The combined panel gave me a +1.24. So I can assume a possible HSV1. But as I am 45 and discovered after the fact that about 2/3 of adults will show positive HSV1. At the time of my physical and blood work I did not know that there was a difference or even two types of HSV. The stress put me over the top. I freaked. I believe this to be the neurological trigger that launched my condition. Also these last two years there have been other stresses like job and finances. I just hope I haven’t caused any irrevocable damage trying every crazy remedy on these boards. Everything I have tried has been a failure. I only get temporary relief from coco butter. Nothing else. All else are irritants. Question? Does the color and pain level stay static with everyone or is it fluid. In the morning it is less painful but in the afternoon much more painful. Also my sac is like a mood lamp. The color can change from bright red to a dark purple and everything in-between. It is more often very tight than free hanging.  I have 3 veins that consistently are dilated and varicose in my sac. But the redness pattern stays the same, it never changes. I often get burning in my legs, outer thighs and top of feet. But that comes and goes. Sitting seems to make it worse. The one constant is like a buzzing tingling feeling in my nuts. That is the most predominant symptom. Does anyone out there have a similar experience? Has anyone tried Acupuncture? Even a vasectomy’s invasive procedure may cause this to sidetrack. Feedback anyone?

[Gunship]

What you have is similar to what i have. I do have a question, the burning you said you get in your legs, Do you get it in other places as well ? I have gotten the burning on my arms as well. Again, I have been tested for all STD and never any outbreak. I hav alot of anxiety.

[Topgun527]

Any improvement??

[Jasons4330]

Hey.. Hoping I can help you out  abit... I used the prescription cream for a few days and it made everything feel alot worse and look alot worse when I was using the cream on my scrotum it turned it fiery red and it had an itchy crawling feeling.  I stopped using the cream in late october and everything returned pretty much returned back to normal.  I did have jock itch but i believe the scrotum was totally unrelated to the jock itch.   I believe what I had was related to prolonged stress and anxiety.  Looking back I believe what happened was I experienced some irritation from shaving which caused the redness and because i was looking for anything in my genital region i freaked out and was examining it non stop which did not help.  As my guilt and anxiety lessened almost all of the symptoms i percieved vanished.   I realized growing up that at times when I would be stressed of anxious my face would turn red and realized that its possible from focusing on one area for so long that this could happen to the scrotum.

The only thing I use now is baby powder and some gold bond every few days.  

It has been almost 3 months now that my scrotum has been normal.  I am thankful I did not continue to use the topical antifungal and steroids for a prolonged period because it seems this can create an even bigger problem and make the recovery much longer and more stressful.

Feel free to shoot me a pm if you have any questions I am no expert but have gone through and experienced the same thing you have and came out alright.

[redsack1973]

wow -your story mirrors my experience word for word from the sexual encounter to the symptoms. I have wondered if its a mind thing(although the pain and redness is real) all std tests and yeast tests are neg. i have found that anything i treat it with seems to irritate it more. my dermatologist said it is contact dermatitis or red scrotum syndrome-but offered no cure or relief. I feel some guilt but more worry of an undiagnosed disease. i think it has made me more of a hypochondriac.not treatin it seems to help, but its not a cure just a temp fix. pure talcum powder helps from time to time but even seems to irritate it sometime. im surprised theres not more info on this because it seems to be a common problem.do you have any additional skin problems?

[Jasons4330]

Thank you maatson, have you ever seen any research indicating red scrotum syndrome may be the result of psychological distress or guilt? I have seen a few posts on the Internet about the connection between the two. I found it interesting that during the most guilty and stressful time of my life this condition manifested