It is the end of a long day and the itch is back. You have looked, twice, and the skin seems fine: no rash, no spots, nothing you can point to.
An itchy groin with no rash is usually a skin cause: fungal irritation, shaving, sweat and tight clothing explain most of them. An STI is possible as well, so at our Harley Street clinic we examine the area and take a swab. A fungal infection swab is £105, and the Bronze STI package is £250 if you have had a new partner or unprotected sex. If you would rather skip the reading, you can walk into our Harley Street clinic any day of the week, and patients do not need to use their real names.
"Most of the time it's a fungal rash, or skin irritated by shaving or sweat. I still test, because you can have an STI as well and not know about it."
Dr Mohammad Bakhtiar, Clinical Lead, GMC 4694470
If the itch is spread across the genitals rather than the groin crease, our guide to genital itching covers that in more detail.
What your itch points to
A groin can itch for a long time before any skin change shows. The pattern of the itch is the best clue, so here are the common ones side by side.
- Most likely cause
- Fungal skin infection (jock itch, or tinea cruris)
- What helps
- A doctor can often tell by looking, and a fungal swab confirms it
- Most likely cause
- Irritated skin or ingrown hairs
- What helps
- Leave the skin alone for a week; come in if it lingers
- Most likely cause
- Contact irritation
- What helps
- Stop the new product and see if the itch settles
- Most likely cause
- Thrush or trichomoniasis, and sometimes chlamydia or gonorrhoea
- What helps
- A swab or urine test finds which one
- Most likely cause
- Herpes is one possibility
- What helps
- A herpes swab is most useful while a sore is present
- Most likely cause
- Pubic lice
- What helps
- A doctor can confirm this by examining you
| What the itch is like | Most likely cause | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Builds with heat, sweat or exercise; skin may look only slightly pink or dry | Fungal skin infection (jock itch, or tinea cruris) | A doctor can often tell by looking, and a fungal swab confirms it |
| Starts a day or two after shaving or waxing; small bumps in the stubble area | Irritated skin or ingrown hairs | Leave the skin alone for a week; come in if it lingers |
| Began after a new soap, wash, wipe or condom brand | Contact irritation | Stop the new product and see if the itch settles |
| Itch with discharge, a change in smell, or stinging when passing urine | Thrush or trichomoniasis, and sometimes chlamydia or gonorrhoea | A swab or urine test finds which one |
| Itch with tingling or burning, or a small sore that comes and goes | Herpes is one possibility | A herpes swab is most useful while a sore is present |
| Itch in the pubic hair itself | Pubic lice | A doctor can confirm this by examining you |
Two points are worth knowing. Jock itch typically sits in the skin folds and spares the genitals themselves, which is why it can feel so confusing. And a symptomless STI often causes no itch at all, so an itchy groin and an STI can turn up together by coincidence.
Swollen glands in the groin sometimes join an itch. If you have noticed lumps there, swollen lymph nodes in the groin explains what they can mean.
Choosing between a single swab and a package
The choice comes down to your own situation.
A fungal swab on its own is £105. It suits an itch that looks skin-related, in someone with no new partner and no recent unprotected sex. The £105 is for the test only, and it gives you a clear answer on the most likely cause without paying for tests that do not match your story.
Our Bronze package is £250 and includes a doctor consultation. It covers chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis, the infections that can be passed on without any itch at all, so it suits an itch that began after a new partner or unprotected sex, when the question is whether anything was passed on. The infections that do cause itch, such as trichomoniasis and herpes, are separate swabs, and the doctor advises which to add depending on what they see and what you describe. A doctor consultation is included in every package and optional on an individual test.
If you are unsure which describes you, choose by your last six months. A new partner or unprotected sex points to the package. A skin-type itch with none of that points to the swab.
For a single test, chlamydia testing is £104 with a urine sample and results in 3 days. Trichomoniasis testing is £120.63, and the herpes test is £120.63 as a swab or £103.75 as a blood test.
What happens when you come in
You can walk in at 117a Harley Street, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 18:00 and Saturday or Sunday 10:00 to 14:00. We are open seven days a week, and you do not need to book.
You tell the doctor or nurse what you have noticed, and they examine the area if that helps. Our team then takes the swab. Nothing needs preparing for a fungal swab. If a urine test is part of your visit, hold your urine for 1.5 to 2 hours beforehand.
Results come back by test. A fungal infection swab returns in 2 to 3 days, and herpes and trichomoniasis swabs within 3 working days. We contact you with the result. If it shows a fungal infection or another cause that can be treated, we agree the next step with you.
Prefer a set time? Book through our page on private STI testing in London.
When the itch looks like a skin problem
If the doctor thinks the itch is a skin matter rather than an infection, the next step may be a general consultation. Our sister clinic, Medical Express Clinic, offers a private GP consultation for itching and skin concerns of this kind.
Book your visit
An itchy groin with nothing to see is easy to put off, and it is a quick thing to settle. Choose a single swab or one of our STI screening packages, walk in at 117a Harley Street, and leave with a plan.