Atopic dermatitis in the armpit: Causes and treatment

When sweating a lot in the armpit area, accumulation of dirt and bacteria will cause atopic dermatitis in the armpit. The disease can happen to anyone and if not detected and treated promptly will lead to serious complications.

Atopic dermatitis in the armpit is a common dermatological disease, which can recur due to exposure to allergens or from bad living habits. When atopic dermatitis in the armpit area , the patient will be itchy, painful, and more likely to have a bad odor. Therefore, patients need to be detected early and treated as quickly as possible to eliminate this infection.

What is Axillary Atopic Dermatitis?

When you notice that the skin under your arms is inflamed, red, swollen with pain and itching, you may have atopic dermatitis in the armpit. The disease can be chronic, relapsing many times, difficult to treat definitively. Initially, the underarm skin has inflammatory acne and collapses on its own after a few days, but in the subsequent inflammations, it is more serious, the acne is bigger, even accompanied by pus. 

When sweating a lot in the armpit area, accumulation of dirt and bacteria will cause atopic dermatitis in the armpit. 

Depending on the cause and manifestation, axillary dermatitis is classified into several types, including:

• Allergic Axillary Dermatitis: The causative agent of this disease is allergen factors, such as food, dust, pet dander or drug allergy... causing the patient to have an itchy rash under the armpit with red, dry, burning, scaly white spots. In addition to the armpits, atopic dermatitis can appear on the face, neck, and limbs with similar symptoms.
• Contact dermatitis : The imbalance of moisture causes the armpits to itch, stinging like an ant bite, uncomfortable scaly skin causing contact dermatitis.
• Seborrheic Axillary Dermatitis: This form of dermatitis occurs due to abnormal hormonal changes that cause the oil glands to be disturbed, acne, itching, burning pain as well as odor in the armpit area.
• Axillary dermatitis caused by fungi and bacteria: Usually this dermatitis is caused by Candida fungus. When they are active, they will cause armpits to blister, have red circles around and form large patches.

Common causes of atopic dermatitis in the armpit

When the skin under the armpits sweat a lot, it will create favorable conditions for bacteria and dirt to stick, multiply and thrive. In addition to sweat, there are a number of additional adverse external factors that cause inflammation and allergies, including:

• Hygiene habits: Many people often think that the armpit is an area of ​​skin that does not need to be cleaned as thoroughly as the face. This is a misconception because the underarm skin has a structure with many folds, so it is easy for dirt and bacteria to stick to clog pores, forming inflammatory foci.
• Due to hot weather: The high temperature, especially in the summer, will make the armpit area always wet because of sweating more than usual, the sebaceous glands are also more active, which is easy to cause dermatitis.
• Shaving and plucking cause damage: Shaving and plucking armpit hair will make the pores in the armpit area bigger, and the skin will be damaged. In many cases, it also causes scratching the surface of the armpit skin, giving bacteria and fungi the opportunity to attack, causing inflammation, even causing superinfection.
• Infected hair follicles: When staphylococcus aureus bacteria live on the pores, it will cause an infection of the hair follicles and lead to atopic dermatitis in the armpit if not treated soon.
• Cosmetic allergy : People with sensitive skin, when using deodorant products, shower gels containing fragrances and chemical ingredients will be very susceptible to cosmetic irritation, red rashes and allergic inflammatory acne formation. response.
• Clothing habits: Clothing also contributes to atopic dermatitis in the armpit if you wear tight, non-breathable clothing that prevents sweat from escaping or the skin under the armpits is rubbed by clothing causing damage.

Shaving, plucking armpit hair will make the pores in the armpit area bigger, and the skin will be damaged.

Signs of atopic dermatitis in the armpit

Regardless of the cause, most patients with atopic dermatitis in the armpit have basic symptoms such as:

• The skin is red due to damage to the mucosa, the surrounding skin is swollen.
• The itching is persistent, when it flares up when it is dull, stinging, especially at night.
• Appearance of red pimples, blisters, even pustules. Depending on the condition and severity, acne can grow singly or in large patches.
• The skin under the armpits is dry, tight, and has a bad smell.

Atopic dermatitis in general, atopic dermatitis in the armpit in particular makes patients always feel uncomfortable, itchy and painful, which greatly affects work, study and daily activities. Patients need early treatment to quickly return to normal skin, especially to limit complications into superinfectious dermatitis that is difficult to treat.

The best treatment for axillary atopic dermatitis

Depending on the level and condition of each person, there are different methods of treating atopic dermatitis under the armpit. Some of the commonly used methods are as follows:

Folk tips

At a mild level, not yet superinfected, patients can apply some tips to treat atopic dermatitis under the armpit at home to relieve symptoms in addition to combining with other treatments.

Tips for using betel leaves

Betel leaves contain many anti-inflammatory active ingredients, which help eliminate bacteria and soothe the wound surface, reducing inflammation and itching.

Betel leaves contain many anti-inflammatory active ingredients, which help eliminate bacteria and soothe the wound surface, reducing inflammation and itching.

Doing:

• Wash about 5-6 betel leaves, crush them with a little salt, then apply on the armpit skin for 10-15 minutes so that the betel leaves do not work.
• Rinse the armpit area with clean, warm water.

Apply ice

If the armpit has a large, swollen, painful skin with no pus or water, the patient can use ice to cool down, reduce swelling, and reduce pain effectively.

Doing:

• Wash your face with damp water, put ice cubes inside and apply it to the armpit area.
• Note that the time for each application is about 3-5 minutes and the ice pack must be moved continuously.
• Do not apply ice directly or apply it for too long, causing the skin to freeze.

Piper lolot

Betel leaf contains anti-inflammatory components, killing bacteria, so patients can use guise leaves to eliminate symptoms of inflammation, symptoms of pyoderma ...

Betel leaves contain anti-inflammatory ingredients, kill bacteria.

Doing:

• Wash about 8-10 fresh guise leaves, crush and squeeze out the juice.
• Use a cotton ball soaked in water to gently apply to the armpit area, keep it for about 15 minutes for the guise leaves to work, and then rinse with clean, warm water.

This folk remedy for atopic dermatitis in the armpit area has the advantage of being both safe and cost-effective. However, patients need to be persistent when applying this method as well as carefully wash the ingredients to avoid irritation when using.

Use prescription Western medicine

Folk tips only apply to mild diseases, in case atopic dermatitis in the armpit has been superinfected or changed, it is imperative to use Western medicine because Western medicine brings quick and thorough effects. 

However, the limitation of the drug method is that it will put pressure on other functional organs such as the liver and kidneys. Therefore, patients must take the medicine as prescribed and in the correct dose as directed by the doctor, avoiding changing or stopping the drug on their own.

Atopic dermatitis under the armpit can happen to anyone and needs to be treated promptly.

Western drugs commonly prescribed for people with atopic dermatitis in the armpit include:

• Antiseptic: In the form of a solution applied to the skin such as lake water, potassium permanganate will help remove surface bacteria, reduce itching as well as prevent infection.
• Corticosteroids: This group of oral drugs is commonly used in the treatment of severe dermatological diseases, killing bacteria deep under the skin (can be used in combination with some other topical drugs as directed). Note, this group of drugs should not be used for more than 10 days to avoid causing side effects, affecting liver and kidney function.
• Tacrolimus drug : This is a drug used in cases of atopic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis ... However, patients need to use the drug in the correct dose and not for too long to avoid increasing the risk of chemical malignancy. cells, acute skin cancer.
• Antihistamines: The effect of this group of drugs is to reduce itching effectively, including Terfenadin, Cetirizine, Fexofenadin and some others.
• Anti-infective drugs: Cephalosporin , Penicillin are the two most used anti-infective drugs, capable of preventing skin infections, inhibiting bacterial activity, and improving inflammation.
• Underarm moisturizers: These creams both have moisturizing effects and contain anti-bacterial active ingredients, so they will improve dry, scaly, cracked, itchy skin.