Jock Itch Causes

A variety of fungi called tinea may cause jock itch, and the rash may occur in anyone, not just athletes or just men.

• People taking broad-spectrum antibiotics, with weakened immune systems, or who have diabetes are more at risk to develop the rash.
  
  
• The moisture, warmth, and presence of friction between skin folds make the groin area particularly open to fungal infection.
  
  
• Wearing tight clothes or athletic supporters can aggravate the problem further.
  
  
• Intimate contact or contact with objects that harbor the fungus invites the fungi. The fungus is spread by contact with the spores, which may survive on dead skin cells or objects for a long time.
  
  
• If you have another fungal infection, such as athlete's foot, the same tinea organism may cause a rash in your groin.
  
  
  • Infections caused by Candida albicans are relatively "wet" (the skin is moist or weeping) and may involve the penis. This infection is seen more often in people with diabetes.
    
    
  • Epidermophyton floccosum may be responsible for the epidemic infections in dormitories, barracks, and similar situations in which people live close together and in which towels, sheets, blankets, and other items may harbor a fungus for years.
    
    
  • Trichophyton mentagrophytes is associated with an aggressive pustular infection and has been isolated from animal dander. You may have a severe inflammatory reaction with this infection, and the inflammation may spread rapidly over your trunk and legs.