Q. You had a question from a woman suffering with a rash under her breasts and I would like to offer my solution: Vodka! I make a spray of half vodka, half distilled water and a few drops of orange essential oil. I use the spray as a deodorant, but I also spray it under my breasts. I started using this when I kept reacting to every other deodorant and have found the spray works especially well for itchy rashes.
A. Thanks for sharing your remedy for body odor, rashes and fungus. You are not the first one to suggest vodka.
Some have used it as a deodorant, and another reader tried it against a fungal infection: “I had a fungus on only one foot for 30 years. I solved it by thoroughly wiping my foot with a vodka-soaked cloth every night. (I used really cheap vodka.)
“After three months, I noticed that my toenails seemed to be growing in pink so I continued and now, after about 13 months, all my toenails look like new. I continue using the vodka-soaked cloth several nights a week. It’s been four years and they’re still good.”
Some women have found that changing their diets helped control the fungus causing a rash under their breasts. Intolerance of foods such as wheat, eggs and dairy could contribute to skin reactions. A diet that allows blood sugar to soar after a meal (a diet rich in readily-digested carbs such as bread, crackers or cookies) can sometimes be linked to fungus on the skin.
Other remedies that women have found helpful range from diaper rash cream to Listerine, witch hazel, Vicks VapoRub, cornstarch or athlete’s foot powder.
One last thing to keep in mind: have your rash examined by your physician. One reader commented on her experience:
“I was being treated for a fungal rash problem around the anal area, and after 7 months my GYN decided to biopsy the area. Everyone was surprised when they all found I had a RARE, VERY RARE, EXTRAMAMMARY PAGET’S DISEASE.
“I just had a check-up mammogram, with nothing found there yet, even though I do have an itch in that area.I now have a permanent colostomy (very easy to take care of). That was the treatment for the Paget’s. I tell everyone that says ‘I have an itch in the area where they could be hemorrhoids,’ or men saying ‘jock itch’ to go and have it looked at from a different perspective as something more than a fungal or yeast infection, just to be sure.”
Share your favorite remedy for this problem below. There are a number of approaches to fungus, if that is the problem, in our Guide to Skin Care & Treatment.
