Groin sweating issue

JustG

Well-known member
In the last year or so, I have had an increase in groin sweating. This is more prevalent when working, exercising and walking.

Lately I have been using large womens ( Tena xtra )incontinence pads to combat this although they are not best suited to men.

Does anyone have any better suggestions? Possibly something fragranced as well.

I am also looking for any suggestions for my feet. Something which may help with the sweat and also again something which may be fragranced.

I am looking at trying merino wool socks and highly breathable trainers as I am often on feet at work.
 

Sprawling

Well-known member
Groin sweating is well... a pain in the groin. I've given up trying to solve this one. Lose 50/50 boxers help with air flow. During the warm months I mostly wear bathing suit boxers. I have carefully applied Certain Dri in the past and that helps a little. These days I just ignore it.
 

JustG

Well-known member
Thanks for the reply Sprawling. Will look into the swimwear suggestion. I'm just glad I dont wear the ultra skinny jeans that everyone wears here, it'd get equatorial down there.
 

Brenda

Active member
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JustG

Well-known member
Thanks Brenda, I will look into both of those. Will give almost anything a try at the minute.

p.s. your English is perfectly fine.
 

asbo

New member
Skip to the end for "too long; didn't read".

I’ve had this problem for the last eight years(I think), it’s been a long time.

I should start off by saying I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and anxiety, largely triggered by the CFS symptoms I experience, so I don’t move around a lot but doing things like going up and down stairs is a massive exertion.

I don’t know about you, but for me, being damp down there triggers something in my subconscious(or perhaps deeper than subconscious?) that makes me need to urinate, presumably because the obvious response to being damp down there is “I must be wetting myself”.

Needing to urinate more than usual = check for infection. There was no infection.

Then I was referred to the urology department and had various unpleasant procedures done. They didn’t find anything and so I was left believing I was slightly incontinent as a rare symptom of CFS.

After putting up with it for a few years I could no longer bare it and started doing some research and experimentation.
First I quickly disproved incontinence by taping over the urethral opening with waterproof tape. No reduction in moisture meant it definitely wasn’t urine. (It’s so obvious and simple, why don’t doctors do this firstly?)
Next I found people online talking about fungal infections down there causing excessive sweating. Tried applying some antifungal spray which seemed to help, so the doctor put me on Terbinafine antifungal tablets, but ultimately the spray only helped because the alcohol in it was drying my skin. So fungal infection was ruled out.

I was then referred to the dermatology department and formally diagnosed with hyperhidrosis.
I was prescribed some extra strong antiperspirant but all that did was sting.
I also tried Oxybutynin which just made my mouth dry and didn’t help.

By this point I’d worked out that the moisture/sweat was specifically coming from my ******* and inner foreskin. I bought an iontophoresis machine with the underarm axillary sponges and electrodes. It helped but zapping down there with electricity is nowhere near as fun as it sounds and was physically difficult. I imagined that treating ones groin region would be significantly easier with female genitalia, but since I was stuck with what I’d got I had to do the best I could. I cut down a flexible plastic trug so that I could sit in something waterproof fairly close to an electric socket in private(no sockets in UK bathrooms).

I also looked into getting circumcised since chopping off the bit excreting moisture seemed a logical step, but I was told I couldn’t have it done on the NHS(which is reasonable in all fairness).

About six months later I was, unrelatedly, put on beta-blockers which had the surprising effect of reducing the hyperhidrosis moderately, presumably the adrenaline making my heart race was also causing me to sweat. At this point the improvement was enough that I stopped the iontophoresis.

Sometime later I bought a set of new underpants and wore them straight out of the packaging without putting them through the wash. To my surprise I found the sweating decrease significantly!
Things then got worse again when I wore underpants that had been through the wash.
I thought, maybe I’m allergic to something. To further the experiment I bought thirty pairs of individually sealed disposable cotton underpants from Amazon, these ones specifically: Men's Disposable Cotton Briefs (Pack of 5) - Super Soft Premium Quality Lightweight Single-use underwear Travel Hospital Spa Massage Sauna Salon Overnight Stays and Emergency Situations: Amazon.co.uk: Clothing
Though they are sold as disposable they’re actually really well made and can be worn and washed multiple times. They’re also made of thinner than usual material so they breathe nicely.
Things again improved significantly over the first few days of wearing them, and again worsened after wearing ones that had been through the wash. That way I ruled out an allergy to the fabric.
There’s clearly something in the washing process which is triggering the sweating. I’ve ruled out washing powder since we’ve used different types, and even some natural things called soapnuts, since I’ve had this problem.

I’ve long had, what was labelled, an allergy to dust, though I don’t know if it’s a specific type of dust, spores or something else floating around in the air. Because of this I have an air filter in my bedroom which helps with the congestion I experience.
I’ve experimented and found that hand washing underwear in just plain water and then immediately drying them in front of the air filter gives me around the same improvement I was experiencing with underpants straight from their packaging.
I asked the doctor if I could try an antihistamine and he put me on cetirizine which made my mouth unbearably dry, to the point that I had to stop taking them. I didn’t notice any improvement to the sweating or the congestion. It’s a bit of a puzzle and I don’t know if the cetirizine would have helped if I’d kept taking it.

My doctor suggested it might be sensitivity to a build-up of bacteria in the washing machine which starts growing on the clothes in the time between the end of the wash and when they get hanged on the washing line to dry.
However I’ve had some of my underpants washed in my grandparents washing machine which didn’t really seem to help.

Whatever it is it’s also in all my clothes, towels and bedding. I think this is why, even if I’m wearing underwear free of it, I still experience the sweating. This is further backed up by improvement I experienced on a short holiday, there my clothes would have still been contaminated but the bedding would not since it came with the holiday house.

I tend to treat my health as a series of scientific experiments, so I hypothesise, take notes and usually come to logical conclusions. I have an extremely good doctor who finds my notes useful, especially because I find it difficult to think clearly and speak.

Apologies for any spelling and grammar mistakes, I struggle with cognitive fogging which makes writing something like this a challenge. I’ve typed this in Word to use its spellchecker, so hopefully it’s not too bad.

That’s my story so far, I hope it will be of use to someone.

TL;DR: Check the groin sweating isn’t a bacterial or fungal infection, anxiety based or an allergic reaction. Iontophoresis helps but can be physically difficult down there.
 
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JustG

Well-known member
Asbo,

thanks for taking the time to write your reply and detail your circumstances.

I too have an allergy to dust/dust mitesbut have never thought of it in any context to my sweating. I also take Cetirizine as my skin gets irritated without it. I have been told it can increase the side effects of certain drugs such as Lyrinel ( oxbutynin family I think ) but without the anti histamine I would lay awake feeling itchy.

My groin sweating has really become an issue in the last year or so and I have no idea why. I wonder if it is due to compensatory sweating caused by iontophoresis ( which is largely useless these days ).

My other main issue is that my body constantly overheats and of course being anxious or in hot environments, like my work adds to this. At the hospital I was told I basically had a broken thermostat, I struggle in cold weather also and suffer from Reynauds, so I really don't know where to go from here.

I am going to take up Sprawling's advice from above and look into sports type underwear and also socks. I am looking at buying Under Armour underwear and socks and also Drymax socks.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I will admit the iontophoresis one scares me a bit altough I believe specific machines exist and have no doubt people on this forum have developed their own way of working around such issues.

Thanks again for taking the time to tell us your experience.
 

asbo

New member
[slightlyofftopic]
Since people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome experience a huge variety of symptoms, I’ve long thought that it’s actually a whole host of different illnesses that they group under the same banner because they have no idea what they actually are. They can’t even settle on a name for it(CFS, ME, PVFS, CFIDS, SEID, etc. etc.).
I also think that it’s related to allergies and autoimmune diseases, where your body is attacking a perceived threat.
N.B. I’ve not done any research, that’s just what it feels like.
[/slightlyofftopic]

I’ve had CFS for approximately 16 years now, I’d gradually improved until around eight years ago when I had a serious relapse which I haven’t recovered from. That’s also when the sweating first started, which seems unlikely to be a coincidence.
The relapse was almost certainly triggered by stress, so that probably triggered the hyperhidrosis to. Or perhaps it triggered a worsening of the allergy and the hyperhidrosis is a symptom of that. It’s difficult to de-tangle what is a symptom of what.

How long did you have to take the Cetirizine before you noticed any improvements? I’m thinking maybe I should try another antihistamine but they all seem to have dry mouth as a side effect.

I also get, what the spe******t calls, poor thermoregulation. I can be freezing cold on an absolutely roasting day, and also over heating on a cold winters day, and vice versa.

I find that brief type underwear are more comfortable as they tend to keep the moisture localised, whereas long boxers tend to draw it downwards so my thighs get cold and damp to. That probably depends on how much you’re sweating and personal preference I guess.
I’d certainly recommend wearing underwear straight out of the packing, just to see if our similar symptoms are a coincidence or not.

I have the Hidrex PSP1000 iontophoresis machine.

(Why are words being censored?)
 

JustG

Well-known member
@ asbo - can't really recall how long it took for Cetirizine to kick in. I think it may have been almost instant. It keeps my itching under control but as with everything else it can impact other drugs.

Can't comment on dry mouth. I have never had it from Cetirizine but do get it from Lyrinel XL which I take for both HH and a bladder condition.

It is unfortunate there is a million and one things you think you cant try out but it's the sheer cost of it all. I often feel I'm working solely to try and treat the condition but most money I spend on things is to no avail.

Just got to keep plugging away.

No idea about the words being censored, sorry.
 
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