Jock itch or genital herpes?

There are many health conditions which have similar symptoms and for that reason they are often mistaken or misdiagnosed, which can have serious consequences since after the diagnosing the certain medical condition a proper treatment is prescribed. However, this treatment prescribed for some other condition is not good and effective for the existing ailment which further may cause it to become worse. Such the case is between the genital herpes and ringworm of the groin also called jock itch since these two conditions have several similar symptoms.

Genital herpes and jock itch

These conditions are similar since they appear in the same area and cause the occurrence of red and irritated skin which can be quite uncomfortable for the affected people. However, these conditions are different and have their own characteristic symptoms which are quite distinguishable.

Trichophyton rubrum is the fungus which is responsible for the incidence of jock itch while the genital herpes is induced by the herpes simplex virus type 2. The both conditions are highly infectious and one can be easily infected through the skin-to-skin contact with the infected person, usually during the sexual intercourse.

Genital herpes is the most severe when it appears for the first time since the outbreak of its symptoms may be frequent due to certain reasons, mostly due to weak immune system. The symptoms of the genital herpes like itching, burning and swelling, as well as blisters, sores and crusts usually last about three weeks and disappear but may recur. Sometimes it may occur that only rash occurs which disappears after about ten days.

Although the initial symptoms of these conditions are more or less the same the rash in jock itch is with red scaly patches which contain blisters while in genital herpes the open lesions are formed. Furthermore, in most cases, penis and scrotum are not infected by the jock itch but it extends to the inner tights.

Jock itch is a treatable and curable condition while the cure for the genital herpes does not exist and the virus stays in the body for life. Jock itch is treated with certain antifungal medications which may be taken orally but there are also antifungal creams which are applied topically on the affected region. On the other side, the symptoms of the genital herpes can be alleviated with the anti-viral medications prescribed by a doctor. Since these conditions can be mistaken for each other it is important to visit a doctor before one starts to treat the emerged symptoms.