Pityriasis Versicolor that won't go away
Posted , 26 users are following.
I first started getting pityriasis versicolor a few years back on holiday. I discovered a load of white scaly dots on my stomach in a line straight down the middle (it resembled a sort of plane landing strip as the dots had joined!). I ignored it thinking it would go, which it did, until I went on holiday again. After three years of it returning each time I went abroad, I went to the doctors. I was prescribed the shampoo they recommend to cure it, and it didn’t work. It came back even worse. I went back to the doctors and he then said it’s the worst case he’s seen in all his years of being a doctor, I was mortified! It covered my stomach, back and even part of my legs. I was then prescribed anti-fungal tablets which appear to have made zero difference. The only other advice I was given was ‘don’t go to hot countries’. There is a whole world out there that I am determined to see, so no way in hell am I taking that advice. I’m doing some traveling for a month at the end of the year to 3 incredibly hot countries, so I NEED to get this sorted. Please help :-(
2 likes, 52 replies
Davidfitz77 Guest
Posted
Hi I've come just read up on the and I'm a young 22 year old man who has developed this after my holiday! I have some clusters on my back and also on my forehead it's in tiny patches! My first dermatologist told me it was sun damage.. then the doctor told me it was the yeast infection then the next dermatologist agreed with the doctor! I'm so confused as have the shampoo but it's not doImg anything
ramona83384 Guest
Posted
did you get rid of the fungus.
E.kuhn83 Guest
Posted
Ive had it for several years and the only treatment that made a slight difference was using selsun shampoo as an ointment ... But this only lightened it and never cleared it up ... But I accidentally stumbled onto something that cleared it in a couple days ... I moved to a different city and took a job that had me working nights and consequently I didn't see much sunlight ... I used palmers tan lotion to try get some sort of colour and a couple days later I noticed that my skin was evenly coloured and the vesicolor that ive come accustomed to is no longer noticeable... I stopped using the sun tan lotion and to my surprise the versicolor is gone... I'm not a medical professional and not sure if it will work for everyone but give it a try and see if it may help .
TineaGone E.kuhn83
Posted
This is not so surprising. If you read the forum pages only two people have had success getting rid of pityriasis versicolor - you and a person who was using coconut oil from Sainsbury's. When you said Palmer Self tan I looked it up and saw that it contains coconut oil. I suspect you used Palmer's Coconut Oil Natural Bronze Body Lotion.
Mystery solved! Now, let's all try coconut oil! I am getting some tomorrow and will report back after I've used it for a week.
taylah66949 TineaGone
Posted
Hi there - i'm new to this forum and have recently been diagnosed with this condition from a doctor.
I've never had it before!!
I've had two treatments with an ointment they recommended and hard to tell if its gone as its still very visible, especially as im quite tanned at the moment.
Just wondering if the coconut oil worked?!
caitlin46873 Guest
Posted
Hi guys!
its been years since you had this conversation but i just stumbled across it. did anyone seem to get rid of it?
Nic6543 Guest
Posted
did anyone have any luck? i got this condition when i was pregnant about 8 months ago and pink flaky spots started to appear on my upper abdominal. they've now turned white and i cant seem to get rid of them.
josh34645 Guest
Edited
Hello,
I'm a 30 year old man and my Pityriasis Versicolor first popped up last summer. At first I thought they were sunspots after working in the yard a lot (I live in South Carolina and the summers are very hot and humid). However, even after applying generous amounts of sunscreen the spots kept getting worse and spreading, especially on my upper arms and shoulders.
I went to a dermatologist who prescribed a ketoconazole shampoo to use as a body wash. I've used it for months and it seems to have stopped the spreading but the spots I already had did not go away or even fade. I tried Terrasil as well which was way more expensive and didn't really help. I recently found this forum and have been trying the palmers self tan a few times a week for the last 3-4 weeks. This has definitely been the best solution I've found so far.
My spots are not completely gone but have faded considerably even after a few uses. I'm hoping to have them gone by summer so I can feel confident taking my shirt off again. Hope this helps. Let me know if anyone stumbles across another remedy. Cheers.
printscreen000 Guest
Posted
I know this is an old post but I'm trying to spread the word: A hospital with a phototherapy department is what you need to be referred to!
GPs don't seem to know about this option for some reason and as a result I had this problem all over my body for almost 20 years (!) just because every GP I went to thought there was nothing to be done beyond the usual topical creams/shampoos and medication... None of those cured the problem and I tried all sorts of other alternative suggestions out there for many years. BUT phototherapy has almost cured this in a few months! It's kind of unbelievable actually.
This was all down to insisting on a referral to a dermatology specialist. I was given a list of hospitals to choose from, I looked up what specialisms they dealt with in each hospital and that's where I learned about narrowband UVB phototherapy. Vitiligo and pityriasis versicolor is one of several things it can treat effectively.
So anyone out there - If your prescriptions don't work after a few months, do insist on being referred and research narrowband UVB phototherapy for pityrasis versicolor.
I'm still in the middle of treatment but results are looking really good, so I will probably update this post every so often because there is always the possibility that it could reappear at some point.
josh34645 printscreen000
Posted
This is great info. For the phototherapy you're going through, is it a booth that you stand in or do they use the handheld wand to apply to affected areas? Thanks.
printscreen000 josh34645
Posted
Sorry for the late reply - You stand in a 'UVB narrowband' booth (like a vertical sun bed booth) between about 15 seconds up to about 10 minutes. The time is increased every week. It can make your skin very dry so you have to slather on lotion (that they provide) afterward.
My treatment was twice a week for about 3 months and it's 97% gone, with no recurrences as of yet. So far its been about 6 months since I was discharged.
The (very) vague remnants I can see on my body can be corrected by just sunbathing now, according to the specialist.
They don't want to over treat it beyond the set number of (20+) sessions because it is radiation at the end of the day. But if it returned then I think I'd be going through the motions of tablets, topical treatments from the GP and then a referral to the specialists again.
I should add that I only had major discolouration everywhere for almost 20 years. I never had the flaky rash that typically comes with this problem. But it would be the same treatment anyway because UVB narrowband phototherapy is used for a variety of skin conditions.
blair77986 printscreen000
Posted
Hi! Could you please let me know if your white patches are now even with your normal skin after UVB narrow band therapy? My dermatologist said that the patches from TV that look like small dots are harder to treat as normal skin will get tan as well so the discoloration will still be present...
I had this over 10 years now, and now trying to see if UVB might help me, as other treatment did not help to remove the light patches after treatment of TV. I was also thinking about going to tanning place-solarium, I am just afraid that even with white patches getting tanned, there will be still a discoloration on my skin
I dont have any rash or anything like that, just lighter than my skin white patches.
Would very much appreciate your response! Thank you!
printscreen000 blair77986
Posted
Hi sorry for such a late response! (I don't seem to get notifications about replies) It was very even after I finished treatment- Difficult to see any patches at all and I had small and large patches originally. However a year later, there has been some return of it (which is expected) but I was advised by the doctors to tan in the sun after finishing treatment and I haven't been doing that (living in a colder climate) so maybe ask the doctors if a tanning both is okay/works- as light therapies always carries skin cancer risks, so adding 20+ minute tanning booth sessions after UVB treatment could be counter productive long term.
shaunic Guest
Posted
one tip I was given when this condition first appeared (this was some years 20 yes ago and has only just really come back) was to rub Head and Shoulders into the infected area, nice and thick, put on some bed clothes...does depend on where it is leave it on overnight and shower off in the morning. this has worked for me.
My Dr at the time told me this particular brand had some of the best antifungal treatment, better than the shampoo prescribed.
I did this for a week and quickly noticed the red colour going. After a few weeks I could go in the sun without ending up looking like a Panda.
I wouldn't recommend if it's on your face as it may get in your eyes...oh and avoid the minty one too.