Not Everything Is Enzyme
A quiet story about rashes, silence, and what no one tells you at NYSC camp
Ayomide didn’t think much of it at first.
NYSC had taken her to Katsina dry air, red soil, heat that settled into the skin. She shared a small room with three other girls, each adjusting to the rhythm of the North in their way.
To stay grounded, she joined a gym tucked behind a mosque. It wasn’t fancy, worn weights, metal benches, women in hijabs doing squats with precision and pride.
A week into the routine, the itching began.
The Itch She Couldn’t Talk About
It started quietly.
A small itch between her thighs was likely sweat or friction, she thought.
Then it got worse, especially at night, after workouts, or after long walks from the parade ground.
When the skin turned reddish, dry at the center but darker and patchy around the edges, she did what came naturally:
She reached for powder.
Morning and night.
Sometimes three times a day.
And she blamed it on the water.
“Maybe it’s the borehole. Or the gym mats. Or something in this place,” she told herself.
She started boiling her bathwater and washing her underwear by hand , even when exhausted.
But the rash kept growing slow, steady, like it had all the time.
What It Looked Like
By the end of the second week:
- A red, circular rash with rough, raised edges
- Clearer in the center, but itchy, dry, and flaky
- Worse at night, after workouts, or in tight clothes
- Burned with movement; made walking uncomfortable
She began to walk differently, keeping her legs slightly apart.
Even wrapping a towel became a task.
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And yet she said nothing.
The Prep Talk That Changed Things
It was during a routine health prep talk that she heard the matron say:
“There’s a kind of rash that shows up on the thighs and buttocks, especially in camp.
It’s caused by fungus, not dirty water.
It loves sweat, tight clothes, and damp underwear.
We don’t talk about it much, but it’s common.”
Ayomide sat still.
At first, her mind rejected it. Fungus? That felt dirtier than water or weather or even the mats.
But as the matron went on, it started to click.
She had never thought of that.
All this time, she’d blamed the water, the new environment, even her skin reacting to change.
But a fungal infection? It made sense now.
What Was Happening
Though the matron didn’t say it by name, what she described was Tinea Cruris, a common fungal infection that affects the groin, inner thighs, and buttocks.
It’s not sexually transmitted or caused by dirt.
It’s a skin condition that thrives in:
- Moisture
- Friction
- Sweat trapped in tight clothing
- Damp gym wear or underwear
It’s often mistaken for heat rash, shaving bumps, or even an STI, which makes people delay seeking help.
But it’s treatable and more common than most people realise.
Quiet Healing
Ayomide eventually visited the clinic.
She didn’t ask for the name. She just wanted it gone, the itch, the shame, the silence.
The nurse took one look and told her what to do.
She followed the instructions.
Avoided tight clothes.
Kept the area dry.
Let her skin breathe.
And slowly, it began to fade.
She never spoke about it again.
Not out of shame, just because the itch was gone, and the lesson had settled.
She still powders out of habit. Still boils her water.
But when someone calls every rash “an enzyme,” she just smiles.
Some truths don’t need correcting.
But they change you all the same.
