Skin Fungus?

[Ennoid]

Since I was about 16 i have been getting rounded patches of discoloration on my skin of the arms, chest, neck back and even head and face. The Patches seem to start in the Hair Follicle and spread outward creating a flaky white discoloration.

In the sun the spots get inflamed and red and even raise up a little. The patterns they create are very similar to Tinea Versicolor but the affected skin clears up 100% after a few days in the sun.   3 to 4 days out the the sun the process starts over. They start off small in the hair follicle as a flaky white patch but when my body temperature is high they get very red and raise up.

My arms have been tan all summer so they have been clear but now a few days out of the sun has resulted in the spots beginning to resurface.  Please give me some ideas.  

[groovieknave]

Get a culture done for yeast infections, or milia. And lower your cholesterol intake!

[fjones1976]

I too have been getting the itchy raised red sports down there, and tiny age/brown spots all over too..(i'm only 27 when this started after my first sexual experience-oral)...i get the spots mainly bum, back and legs too and around pubichair....also have been getting female issues down there at the same time....burning and such that they cannot diagnose as anything---they've ruled out all of other stds, HSV etc....there is another woman in posts around this time having the same issues and seems to be spreading to her family--much like mine...this scared the **** out of  me that the doctors/specialists don't seem to care and are so blase about it....feeling worthless and all they do is give antidepressants..I too bagan drinking heavily around the time these symptoms started 3 years ago...but it was one or two spots, and a week or so of discomfort..this time its now 8 months non stop...maybe a day in between where i feel vaguely normal.....but otherwise dirty....sigh...if you get any news do share the outcome....

[aimrod]

i have similiar problems, but still can't figure out what the hell is going on..i've been itching horribly for about a year!  it is definately worse when i get out of the shower and when i try to go to sleep, also when i have temperature change.. i also have hyperpigmentation (small untanned spots) it might be hypo, i can't remember which is which, anyway...mostly have spots on my legs and arms...and butt.  the itching is so bad, i have scratched away skin..yuck...so, i my dr thought it was tinea and prescribed a 7 day prescription of ketoconozole, which had no effect...i even tried it again two months later because i was drinking heavely with the first dose...second time, no drinking, no effect...also tried topical creams, nothing...i bought selsun blue and smeared it all over, which had a calming effect for about 15 minutes, then it was worse because it dried out my skin....so i went to the dermatologist where they gave me mimix, nothing, and some oil stuff, nothing....they raised one of my "spots" and cut it off (nice) and sent it to the lab...haven't heard anything yet...but as you can probably assume, i am COMPLETELY at a loss and frustrated....oh, also, i have early stage cirhosis, and my hepatologist says he has never heard of itching with spots from a liver problem, but my derm says my capillaries may be responding in a way to cause spots..what?  if anyone has any input , or way to stop the itching, i will kiss the ground you walk on in exchange for the relief!

[Ennoid]

It definitely tans because there is a gradient, visible in certain lighting and angle, that goes away when tan. The tan skin eventually gets over run after a few days out of the sun. Like i said before it starts off small after tanning, then spreads. It is almost like a UVA or UVB deficiency if that is possible. I have considered just visiting the tanning booths periodically for the rest of my life to live without this condition.

Have I mentioned that when it is present and I get hot, It itches uncontrollably and painfully. But when i am tan and it is "gone" I do not itch or hurt when my temperature is raised.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Your description does sound like tinea versicolor, but that condition wouldn't clear up on its own in a few days in the sun without treatment.  It may be that it is tinea versicolor, and that the sun just redddens your skin so you can't see it.  Otherwise, I can't think of any conditions, serious or otherwise, that would look like this, but I frankly think that a doctor will need to see you in person to tell you exactly what you have.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff