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Dandruff Shampoo Clears Underarm Rash

Q. I have had an underarm rash off and on for years. I read about coal tar shampoo for rosacea and found that it worked well. I thought perhaps my armpit rash might be caused by fungi too.

I shampoo my armpits and face at every shower and everything has cleared up. This has worked better as a rosacea treatment than years of antibiotics.

A. Several people have reported that dandruff shampoo (whether based on coal tar or selenium sulfide) is helpful for rosacea. This condition causes redness of the face along with pimple-like lesions.

Although physicians haven’t determined the cause of rosacea, the fact that dandruff shampoos may help suggests that yeast or fungus on the skin surface may play a role in some cases. Perhaps the same mechanism explains your success with underarm rash.

If you would like to read more about dandruff shampoo for rosacea, here is a link. Others have found that magnesium (topically in the form of Epsom salt solution) also works. Here is a link.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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