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Why am I getting white spots on my skin. How do I cure it?
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Male Person's Age: 64 Already Tried: nothing
Hi. I will do my best to advise. However, please note that this does not substitute an in-person consultation with a doctor.-Could you explain your situation a little more?Where are the spots? When did they appear? Are they itchy? Are you able to upload pictures?
Have on thighs, arms, chest. Started about 12 mos. ago with 5 or 5 spots. Numbers of spots increasing faster now. Not itchy- no sensation. Just round skin areas devoid of pigment. My skin tans, they do not. My wife is getting them too. We lived in the tropical Pacific islands, Micronesia, Guam, Saipan for about 20 yrs. There was a skin de-pigment disease there somewhat common caused by a fungus and treatable with a creme. But these are big blotches like that disease, they are small various size spots. We have lived in China last 8 years, but return to the islands on business & R&R 2-3 times/yr. They seem to have started when we went to Guam, Saipan & Philippines last Aug. Can take pic. but not until tomorrow.
Relist: Other.Dr. has given no answer. Still waiting for answer & the Dr. is off-line.
Hi. Sorry, I had to go offline temporarily. There are a number of reasons for white spots including fungal infections like tinea versicolor and vitiligo. However if your wife has the spots too, they are more likely to be caused by a fungi/yeast infection than vitiligo.The website below gives you all the information regarding tinea versicolor.http://dermnetnz.org/fungal/pityriasis-versicolor.htmlI can give you more about these conditions, but if you can upload pictures at some point within the next few days, I can give you a better idea.
Thank you. That's what I thought. We live in China where Dr. don't speak English, so hard to communicate with them. I will send you pics. tomorrow AM when sun is up. It's too dark here to get a good pic.
You are welcome. Hope to hear from you soon.
I have the pics. How do I send them?
You have three options for sending me pictures:1. The quickest: upload the pictures here using the paperclip like icon in your chat box. You can't find it if you are browsing via a mobile/ipad or a non-internet explorer browser like google chrome etc. You can try uploading via Internet explorer browser if you can. iPad/mobile users can email it to your our email id, download it to your laptop if you have one and then upload via Internet explorer. 2. Upload the pictures to online photo sharing websites like Flickr/photobox/picasa web albums and paste the link here. 3. Alternatively you can send them by email XXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX with the subject line 'FAO dermatology expert Dr. Sasi Attili'. Please note that you HAVE to send them from the email address you registered with on justanswer OR paste the link to your question in your email, or else the email won't be forwarded to me. Also do note though that emails might take up to 24 hours to be forwarded to me (and hence first two options preferable), though usually they are forwarded within a few hours. I shall get back once I receive the photos. Hope to hear from you soon.
will email
No problem
done
Ok
Thanks. I have now received the pics which are consistent with a condition called idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis. You can read all about it on the website belowhttp://dermnetnz.org/colour/guttate-hypomelanosis.htmlIt is believed to be caused by excessive sunlight exposure. Unfortunately there are no good treatments for it and nothing really works well in my experience. However you can try tretinoin 0.05% cream once daily and betamethasone ointment once daily on the individual spots to see if it helps. It is a harmless condition though!!
Thank you. Why do I have it on parts of my body never exposed to sun?
Nobody knows what exactly causes this condition and hence the name idiopathic . Sunlight is believed to be a factor but it can occur in unexposed areas too. I can't think of any other condition though, that might look like this.
Experience: MRCP (London, UK), CCT-Dermatology (UK).
Thank you very much.
You are welcome.