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New Choices in Natural Healing: Jock Itch

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Jock Itch

Spend enough time at the gym, and you’ll get the rippling biceps you’ve always dreamed about. But spend enough time in the locker room afterward, and you may also get a nightmare case of jock itch.

What puts the itch in jock itch? The same thing that puts the.......uh, foot in athlete’s foot: a fungus called trichophyton. This fungus loves warm, moist places such as a locker room—and your groin area. The fungus often spreads through towels that have not been properly cleaned. So consider packing your own towel instead of using the freebies at the gym. The natural remedy in this chapter, used with you doctor’s approval, may help relieve jock itch, according to one health professional.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

Your itching has lasted for more than a week without relief.
Your itching is accompanied by or causes severe redness, sores or oozing.
Your itching precedes formation of a blister or sore.
Your genitals are maddeningly itchy and the sensation seems to have spread to other parts of your body.

Food Therapy

Garlic may help bring quicker relief because of its antifungal qualities, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. “I’d advise eating as much raw garlic as possible at the first sign of jock itch. It’s also a good idea to avoid yeast products such as breads, baked goods and alcohol, which may make some people more prone to getting jock itch.”

But eating raw garlic can cause gastrointestinal upset, says registered pharmacist Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Pacific Western University in Los Angeles and author of Earl Mindell’s Food as Medicine and other books on nutrition. If you find you have trouble tolerating raw garlic, Dr. Mindell suggests trying garlic supplements instead. Take one capsule with every meal, he says; they’re available in most health food stores and in many drugstores.

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