We usually pay less attention to our armpit’s condition thinking that our priority should be on our facial skin care, which is understandable. Skin care routine is consuming much of our time, and it’s completely understandable if we’ll opt to discontinue it for a while, but how about after learning all the medical conditions that you could actually get underarms? Curious? Keep reading!
What do we usually do with our armpits? If you’re one of those who do not have armpit skin care routine, you’re probably only into shaving the armpit hair or applying deodorant to mask unwanted odor if you have one, and nothing else. That being said, you probably have no time of palpating your underarms and self-monitoring yourself to make sure you’re in no rare and serious armpit medical condition.
Some of you may argue that armpit skin care are only for those who want their armpits hairless, odorless, and sweat less with no signs of darkened skin, you might be right at some point, but that’s not always the case. There are alarming armpit conditions that could affect both of your physical and mental state. Educate yourself.
Armpit conditions like Hyperhidrosis, Irritant contact dermatitis, Allergic contact dermatitis, Psoriasis, Acanthosis nigricans, Tinea Corporis, Armpit boil, Armpit folliculitis, Axillary lymphadenopathy, Armpit skin tags, Candidiasis, Intertrigo, Armpit abscess, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, and Erythrasma have different causes and impacts to people suffering from this.
14 Armpit Medical Conditions
1. Axillary Hyperhidrosis
This is one of the most common armpit condition. This is a condition of excessive sweating that might cause unwanted body odor eventually. Sweat do not really have a smell at all, but the stored bacteria underarms and sweat combined could possibly produce unwanted armpit odor.
Imagine how horrible to be in someone else’s shoes with hyperhidrosis. Staying still while doing nothing, but still sweat excessively is a real dilemma that I wouldn’t wish to put myself into. Fortunately, since this is a common condition underarms, there is an effective way to get rid of it, and that is to treat it with antiperspirants. This is a product meant to temporarily block the sweat glands from producing more sweat.
2. Contact Dermatitis
a. Irritant Contact Dermatitis
Irritant Contact Dermatitis is a skin inflammation that includes redness, swelling, pain, and heat. The closest probable cause of this skin inflammation would be an irritating substance from either your deodorant or antiperspirant that is directly touching the armpit skin.
b. Allergic Contract Dermatitis
Allergic Contract Dermatitis are rashes that are both painful and itchy. This is an allergic reaction out of something directly touching the skin. This is a rare condition for armpits.
3. Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin condition causing red plaques and silver-colored scales. This medical condition do not only target armpits, but the other parts of the body including scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back. The red plaques could be both painful and itchy, and it’s possible to bleed, as well. The impacts of psoriasis depends fully on its severity. If it’s already that severe, you might notice the plaques merging and covering larger areas underarms.
4. Acanthosis Nigricans
Acanthosis Nigricans is a skin disorder that occurs around the area of neck, armpits, groin, and the lower part of the breasts. This disorder could be congenital or a condition that a person is born with and an aftermath of obesity, especially those with diabetes. There are a lot of possible causes of Acanthosis Nigricans, and that includes Addison’s disease.
If your disorder is due to obesity, make sure to eat with balanced diet to treat your condition. Try treating the probable roots first, as well, to heal from this condition.
5. Tinea Corporis
Tinea Corporis or ringworm is a contagious fungal infection. We usually get this when in contact with people who has this condition, as well. You could also get ringworm by touching things that have fungus on them, so always make sure you wash your hands when touching something to avoid getting tinea corporis from objects.
If you already had this condition before, you’re more likely to contract one again, especially if your ringworm haven’t fully treated. It’s best to consult a doctor when you notice a ringworm not only underarms, but in your other body parts, as well.
6. Armpit Boil
A furuncle is an infection of a hair follicle. Yet, you do not have to worry that much because armpit boils are harmless most of the time. It could appear red, pinkish, bump, with yellow pus visible. It could be painful and itchy at the same time. This condition is commonly because of excessive perspiration or sweating, shaving especially with razors, poor hygiene, and weak immune system. It’s advisable to never squeeze your armpit boil. To treat this condition, you could either use antibacterial soap or apply warm compress. It’s up to you. It develops swollen armpit lump.
7. Armpit Folliculitis
This is a skin condition that develops follicle inflammation, usually refer to as an armpit pimple due to its appearance. If you have a severe armpit folliculitis, you could experience permanent armpit hair loss and scarring. If your armpits feel itchy, like it was burning, but with pus-filled blisters and bumps around your armpit hair, then it’s best to consult your physician.
8. Axillary lymphadenopathy
This refers to the swelling of your lymph nodes underarms. You will experience armpit lumps, pain, and even fever or chills! This is often a side effect for some vaccines, as well, including the pox vaccination, and they say a proven side effect to some people injected with COVID-19 vaccination too. An accurate diagnosis is important to be able to rule out possible serious conditions that are probably the true underlying cause of your axillary lymphadenopathy.
9. Armpit Skin Tags
Armpit skin tags are painless and harmless. This condition usually targets elder people. The reason behind armpit skin tags are still unknown up until today, but there are claims that human papillomavirus (HPV) might be a factor to why armpit skin tags exists. It’s also probably due to friction since skin tags usually appear in skin fold like armpits. Make sure to shave with caution around skin tags if you have one.
10. Candidiasis
There are bacteria and fungi living in our body, one of it is the Candida fungus which is a harmful organism. Due to antibiotics and other antibacterial stuff that kills bacteria in the body is the overgrowth of candida which later on became an infection called candidiasis. To treat this, a person affected with this condition should improve his or her hygiene and might as well apply antifungal cream underarms. Make sure to wash your armpits regularly to keep it moist and safe from the said condition.
11. Intertrigo
This is a reddish rash that usually appears in a skin fold area of the body like armpits. Intertrigo may not be contagious, but it could be too itchy and painful. The condition could be seen on both sides of the armpits. Unfortunately, if you already have a secondary infection, the intertrigo would become worse and it might develop unwanted odor. As much as possibe, avoid direct contact with your body secretions like perspiration, urine, and feces. Use antiperspirant to temporarily block sweat glands and to avoid direct contact with your perspiration underarms.
12. Armpit Abscess
Armpit abscess is also called a boil that is commonly full of pus due to bacterial infection. Most cases are harmless and not in need of a treatment. There are also over-the-counter pain relievers that could help allay discomfort if ever. On the other side, this condition might trigger serious complications like blood poisoning. It’s advisable to consult your physician.
13. Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Hidradenitis Suppurativa, also referred to as acne inversa, is a skin condition that appears similar to a pimple, however, small in size. It’s also similar to a deeper acne-like nodules boils. If you have this, you should avoid dairy products, rich in sugar food, and brewer’s yeast. Eat food rich in fiber instead. If you have a severe hidradenitis suppurativa, there are surgical options for you like unroofing, limited unroofing, and electrosurgical peeling.
14. Erythrasma
Erythrasma is a bacterial infection that could appear red, pink, and brown skin patches in color. This condition usually develops in a tropical country and with people who are diabetic, suffering from excessive perspiration, obese, elder, people with medical condition and poor hygiene.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of armpit-related medical conditions that you should take a look into. It’s important to give our armpits the same amount of love and care that we give to our other body parts. Always remember to consult your physician whenever you feel uncomfortable and weird about your armpits.