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Have Had A Rash Near Anus It Does Not Itch. Tried Hydrocortizone, No Improvement. Prescribed Clotrimazole. Side Effect?
Question: I have had a rash near my anus for perhaps 10 days. It does not itch. I tried Hydrocortizone for several days and it didn't seem to get worse but nor did it get better. I told my primary care doctor about it and although I was embarrassed to show her, from my description she prescribed Clotrimazole. I used it for several days and still the rash persists. I am not XXXXXXX and there has been no sexual contact of any kind near my anus. I read that the possible side effects of Clotrimazole may indeed be skin rash. Could it be that was the wrong medication and in fact it may be prolonging the rash? If you can tell me which medication would best remedy this I would appreciate it.
Hi XXXXXX,
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to Healthcare Magic. My self Dr S K Kanodia and will try to provide you the best of information regarding your query.
- After reading the whole series of description and looking at the picture I can make the possibility of simple "Perianal inflammation". Though in perianal region there are many possibilities but it is too early and injudicious to make exact diagnosis at this time.
- As the rash which you described is non-itchy, short duration and looking the picture at best appears to be diffuse with slight redness and central excoriation so adds to perianal inflammation by simple mixed causes related to hygiene. It is quite common in this region to start as mild inflammation which is slightly bothersome and then gets modified by various factors such as poor ventilation and maceration, frequency of defaecation, bacterial contamination and even simple obesity, food and drinks makes problems in the maintenance of hygiene.
Now after this long description, the simplest of the treatment to this situation is by:
1. Maintaining the hygiene by wearing simple cotton underwears which should be changed two times/day
2. Sitz bath: Using XXXXXXX warm water in a tub and sitting in the same for 5-10 minutes 2-3 times per day for 5-7 days.
3. No touching and scratching the area unnecessarily as can lead to infection
4. Don't use moistened toilet papers as can cause irritation by fragrance.
It is not a rash related to clotrimazole or your oral tablet (tadalafil) allergy so don' bother about the same.
If at all you want to use a cream then it would be better to use a mixed cream with mild steroid, antibiotic and antifungals in it with very thin layer applied over the affected area for 5-7 days.
I hope you must be relaxed to know that it is not any Sexually transmitted disease or anything serious.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be happy to help.
Regards.
Dr Sanjay K Kanodia
MD (Dermatology & STD)
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to Healthcare Magic. My self Dr S K Kanodia and will try to provide you the best of information regarding your query.
- After reading the whole series of description and looking at the picture I can make the possibility of simple "Perianal inflammation". Though in perianal region there are many possibilities but it is too early and injudicious to make exact diagnosis at this time.
- As the rash which you described is non-itchy, short duration and looking the picture at best appears to be diffuse with slight redness and central excoriation so adds to perianal inflammation by simple mixed causes related to hygiene. It is quite common in this region to start as mild inflammation which is slightly bothersome and then gets modified by various factors such as poor ventilation and maceration, frequency of defaecation, bacterial contamination and even simple obesity, food and drinks makes problems in the maintenance of hygiene.
Now after this long description, the simplest of the treatment to this situation is by:
1. Maintaining the hygiene by wearing simple cotton underwears which should be changed two times/day
2. Sitz bath: Using XXXXXXX warm water in a tub and sitting in the same for 5-10 minutes 2-3 times per day for 5-7 days.
3. No touching and scratching the area unnecessarily as can lead to infection
4. Don't use moistened toilet papers as can cause irritation by fragrance.
It is not a rash related to clotrimazole or your oral tablet (tadalafil) allergy so don' bother about the same.
If at all you want to use a cream then it would be better to use a mixed cream with mild steroid, antibiotic and antifungals in it with very thin layer applied over the affected area for 5-7 days.
I hope you must be relaxed to know that it is not any Sexually transmitted disease or anything serious.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be happy to help.
Regards.
Dr Sanjay K Kanodia
MD (Dermatology & STD)
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Mohammed Kappan
Can you name an over the counter cream which I may purchase that fits your descripton? It may help to know that I am not obese and bathe twice daily and always use bar soap around my anus. Perhaps more importantly, I have always used moistened toilet paper to wipe. In fact, I think I recall before the irritation began even putting some liquid hand soap on the moistened toilet paper. I suspect this may be the root origin of the rash. Are there any pre packaged wipes that are better suited to this purpose? Thank you for your consideration.
Welcome again XXXXXX
It is really nice to recall the offending agent causing this inflammation, so that now we are aware of exact cause of the problem and it will also help to prevent the condition in future. Adding to my probable diagnosis it becomes a clearer picture to give a precise probability of perianal inflammation due to “irritant dermatitis” by liquid hand soap.
As skin mucosa around anus is quite delicate structure so the chemicals present in the liquid soap can cause irritation over the same. The rest of the factors enumerated before plays the role in increasing it. Because of your maintained physique and general hygiene, it didn’t increase a lot which is also evident by not much of irritation or itching over the same.
This condition responds best to topical steroids; hydrocortisone being a mild steroid was not able to reduce it completely and so also to clotrimazole being antifungal was ineffective in this condition.
You can apply Flutibact cream ( fluticasone with mupirocin) to the area and there is no need of triple combination with antifungal now. Apply a very thin layer only for 5-7 days.
You can use normal wipes with least or no fragrance in the same and would be sufficient for the purpose but along with it kindly do “sitz bath” as advised before.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be happy to help or if you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer.
Wish you good health"
Regards,
Dr Sanjay K Kanodia
(MD- Dermatology & STD)
It is really nice to recall the offending agent causing this inflammation, so that now we are aware of exact cause of the problem and it will also help to prevent the condition in future. Adding to my probable diagnosis it becomes a clearer picture to give a precise probability of perianal inflammation due to “irritant dermatitis” by liquid hand soap.
As skin mucosa around anus is quite delicate structure so the chemicals present in the liquid soap can cause irritation over the same. The rest of the factors enumerated before plays the role in increasing it. Because of your maintained physique and general hygiene, it didn’t increase a lot which is also evident by not much of irritation or itching over the same.
This condition responds best to topical steroids; hydrocortisone being a mild steroid was not able to reduce it completely and so also to clotrimazole being antifungal was ineffective in this condition.
You can apply Flutibact cream ( fluticasone with mupirocin) to the area and there is no need of triple combination with antifungal now. Apply a very thin layer only for 5-7 days.
You can use normal wipes with least or no fragrance in the same and would be sufficient for the purpose but along with it kindly do “sitz bath” as advised before.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be happy to help or if you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer.
Wish you good health"
Regards,
Dr Sanjay K Kanodia
(MD- Dermatology & STD)
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Mohammed Kappan
Answered by
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