What is an Itchy Armpit?
Pruritus or itchy armpits is the relentless feeling that a person is experiencing, with an urge to scratch the affected skin that’s badly itching and which is quite irritating. After scratching the armpit, a certain relief could be felt but doing it more often may worsen the symptoms.
The thought of having itchy armpits can be very embarrassing, especially if the feeling to scratch it is in public places and it is pretty much sure and difficult to control such an itchiness. Itchy armpits are common in both men and women.
What are the symptoms of Itchy Armpits?
The symptoms of itchy armpits always depend on the primary condition that is being dealt with by the person. The most common cases associated along with itching are; soreness, lumps, blisters, and blemishes.
Scratching might be relieving but doing it too much can make the symptoms much worse and may possibly lead to infections or contamination. There are also other symptoms that can be accompanied together with an underarm itch and these are; rashes, redness, sore skin, scaly skin, coughs, headache, constant sweating, soreness of throat, and rhinorrhoea. In some worse cases of the symptom that’s already life-threatening, seeing a physician for immediate medical care is a must.
These symptoms that are considered serious could be; joint stiffness and pain, fever, having to experience the difficulty of breathing or maybe the shortness of breath, chills, throat constriction, unexpected swelling of the lips, tongue or face and if the healing is still poor despite the treatment given.
What causes Itchy Armpits?
There are numerous causes for itchy armpits. Many people experience the discomfort and uneasiness caused by itchy armpits, but the answers are not always easy and simple. All causes should be well understood first to avoid the itchiness and be relieved of the discomfort.
- The most common ailment is the person’s hygiene. If a person is doing many activities daily like exercising or roaming around the city for some matters, sweat and dirt is very prone to the armpits and the bacteria that comes along with it is present. This may lead to a very itchy armpit.
- The improper way of shaving. If the razor of the shaver is dull or being unable to use a good amount of shaving cream, this will cause the underarms to be dry, itchy, and irritated.
- Another can be the cloth with a laundry detergent that comes in contact with the skin and reacts badly to it, causing the underarms to itch.
- Bras used by women may cause some allergies too.
- Intertrigo which is usually referred to as skin rash mostly affects areas with skin folds and includes the underarms. The characteristics of Intertrigo could be redness, itchiness, cracked skin or even causes the skin to ooze a liquid that has a foul smell.
- Another common disease called Miliaria Rubra that occurs to individuals who are always on bed rest and maybe exposed to environments that are very hot and humid for a long period of time. This disease is triggered when the sweat glands are blocked and perspiration is trapped.
- Allergic reactions like some foods.
What are the treatments for Itchy Armpits?
Treatments greatly vary from the symptoms of the person but with the usual cases of itching, it is best recommended to prevent one’s self from scratching it and leave the itchy area to naturally heal. There are a few simple methods to soothe Itchy Armpits as follows:
- Wear cotton clothes to lessen perspiration
- Avoid poor hygiene and start practicing good hygiene to be safe from bacteria
- Deodorants and some other products contain chemicals that may irritate the underarm and this should be tested first as to which one causes the irritation and be avoided; if nothing works, natural methods like lemon juice or baking soda could be used
- Stop shaving the armpits and try waxing or depilatory agent
- Try to apply oils or lotions with vitamin E that can soothe the affected skin, tea tree oil and aloe vera is also helpful
- Using hot compress to promote drainage
Most causes of underarm itching is said to be mild and is not be worried about but an evaluation of a physician is still suggested if the itching is too sudden, unusual and awful.
Continuous itching of the armpits is very irritating and unnatural, therefore it shouldn’t just be ignored especially if the itching goes on for more than two weeks. A physician should be consulted. Every itching has a cause and correct treatment is significant for every diagnosis which means that there’s no need to remain quiet about it when it happens.
References
- http://www.enkivillage.com/itchy-underarms.html
- http://www.md-health.com/Itchy-Armpits.html
- http://skintelligencenter.vmvhypoallergenics.com/c39-skin-health/underarm-lightening-darkening-itching-or-redness/
- Finlay AY, Khan GK. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) – a simple practical measure for routine clinical use. Clin Exp Dermatol. 1994; 19:210–216.
- Patrick DL, Burke LB, Powers JH, Scott JA, Rock EP, Dawisha S, O’Neill R, Kennedy DL. Patient-reported outcomes to support medical product labeling claims: FDA perspective. Value Health. 2007; 10:S125–137.
- Verhoeven L, Kraaimaat F, Duller P, Kerkhof P van de, Evers A. Cognitive, behavioral, and physiological reactivity to chronic itching: analogies to chronic pain. Int J Behav Med. 2006; 13:237–243.