Tinea Cruris |
Signs and Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of tinea cruris include erythematous itchy
rash (pruritus) or burning sensation in the groin and adjacent areas of the
body like thighs and perineum. The lesions of tinea cruris are seen as large erythematous
patches of skin with peeling (scales) and cracking.
Causes
Tinea cruris is an opportunistic fungal infection, most often
with trichophyton rubrum followed by trichophyton tonsurans and trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Risk factors
Tinea
crusis may spread from fungal infection of other body parts like foot (athlete’s
foot). Other risk factors include tight clothing as it offers ideal environment
(heat and moist) for the growth of fungus. It may also come from the other
affected persons during swimming and cloth handling and sharing.
Diagnosis
Most
often, tinea cruris is diagnosed clinically as it presents with pruritic
erythematous patches (maybe with raised border) on the groin region. Microscopic
examination of wet scales from the affected area is diagnostic.
Differential diagnosis
Differential
diagnosis (DD) of tinea cruris includes cutaneous candidiasis, contact
dermatitis, acanthosis nigricans, psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis.
Treatment
Treatment
of tinea cruris comprises of topical anti-fungal agents, applied to the affected
skin areas. Azole (e.g. ketoconazole, miconazole, etc.) and allylamine (e.g. terbinafine,
butenafine, etc.) drug families of antifungal agents are effective and usually
used to treat tinea cruris.
- Terbinafine topical cream 1% (Lamisil, Cutis, Terbiderm) is applied to the affected area of the skin once or twice daily for one to two weeks.
- Ketoconazole topical cream 2% (Nizoral, Conaz, Spike, Tezole) twice daily for four weeks is often effective.
- Whitfield's ointment (3% of salicylic acid and 6% of benzoic acid) is an often used antifungal preparation for the treatment of tinea cruris.
- Topical steroid and anti-fungal combination is not recommended, currently.
Prevention
In
order to prevent the spread of tinea cruris, keep your groin clean and dry,
especially after taking bath, swimming or perspiration (sweating). Do not share
your clothing or towel with others. Do not wear tight undergarments and use
antifungal powders.
Alternative Names
Many
a time, in different areas, different names are used for the same condition. Similarly,
tinea cruris is also known as ringworm of groin, jock itch, crotch rot (itch), eczema
marginatum, Dhobie itch, gym itch, and more.
Reference
- El-Gohary M, van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Burgess H, Doney L, Stuart B, et al. Topical antifungal treatments for tinea cruris and tinea corporis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2014; 8:CD009992. [PubMed]
- Thaker SJ, Mehta DS, Shah HA, Dave JN, Kikani KM. A comparative study to evaluate efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness between Whitfield's ointment + oral fluconazole versus topical 1% butenafine in tinea infections of skin. Indian J Pharmacol. 2013 Nov-Dec; 45(6): 622-4. [PubMed]
Keywords:
Tinea cruris, Groin itch, Fungus groin, Itchy groin, Jock itch, Dhobie’s itch, Sign
and symptoms, Causes, Itch treatment, Tinea cruris treatment, Prevetion, Lamisil cream, Cutis cream
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