What is Jock Itch and How to Treat Jock Itch

Have you ever woken up horrified by the sight and feeling of irritation below the belt? For some, this can be a sign of more serious health issues, but for most, this calling card of a very common condition known as jock itch. While on the surface jock itch can appear pretty frightening and painful, it is generally curable within a few days. To avoid ever having to face a showdown with some thunder from down under ever again, we can provide sure-fire tips for men with jock itch towards staving off future occurrences.

What is Jock Itch?

Jock itch is a common form of ringworm caused by fungus growing on the top layer of skin. This sounds terrible, but ringworm isn’t actual worms at all, rather a common term for fungal infections of the skin. What makes jock itch different than infections on the rest of your body is location, location, location.

What Does Jock Itch Look Like?

Jock itch symptoms include a blistered, red, or bumpy rash in the skin around the groin, inner thighs, and buttocks, usually stopping short of spreading on the scrotum or penis. Like the name implies, jock itch’s most common victim are male athletes. Fungi like jock itch thrive in warm, moist areas, making athletes particularly at risk due to exposure to sweat soaked clothing.

Jock Itch Treatments and How to Get Rid of Jock Itch

On a basic level, getting rid of jock itch means keeping your groin area clean and dry. A jock itch home remedy includes washing your groin area two to three times a day, thoroughly drying and apply hydrocortisone cream on the infected area. This usually will help cure jock itch in a week or so.

How to Prevent Jock Itch

Preventing jock itch in men starts like most good men’s grooming routines, during your morning shower. Regularly wash your groin area with all-natural soap bar for men, making sure to rinse completely when complete. Generic body soaps often contain chemicals that you don’t want polluting down south while also causing excess drying of the skin. It’s true that you want to prevent surplus moisture from collecting in this area, but drying the skin through the chemicals in your soap can cause irritation that give jock itch a head start at ruining your day.

At the end of your shower, make sure to fully pat dry your groin area. Any moisture left lingering here is trouble so try to avoid a quick and sloppy wipe dry. When you are sure that you are completely dry, throw on a clean pair of proper fitting underwear before getting ready. Even on laundry day, try to avoid throwing on even lightly used underwear as bacteria laying latent in the fibers creates a friendly environment to unfriendly fungi.

After any vigorous workout (or any time that you get a bit sweaty down there) repeat the above steps as soon as possible. There is rarely a reason to be stewing in your own sweat, so hop into a shower immediately. In a pinch, gently wash this area alone and dry completely. The goal here is to stop the growth of bacteria before it ever even starts. 

Whenever you are not planning to throw layers of clothing back on or be active, liberally apply an all-natural body lotion for men to the groin area when clean and let dry before being active again. This will help condition the skin without running the risk of adding to the excess moisture that can lead to jock itch in men.

Practicing these steps regularly will prevent you from discovering a nightmare in between your legs.