Tinea Versicolor - symptom, Treatment of Tinea Versicolor

Tinea Versicolor Information

Tinea Versicolor is a common skin disease, especially in people who habitually lie on sandy beaches in the Caribbean. It usually affects the upper trunk and produces a variegated hyper-or hypopigmentation. Tinea Versicolor is benign, superficial cutaneous fungal infection usually characterized by hypopigmented or hyperpigmented macules and patches on the chest and the back.

Causes of Tinea Versicolor

Tinea versicolor is caused by the Malassezia furfur. Most cases of tinea versicolor occur in healthy individuals with no immunologic deficiencies. Many factors that cause the disease include

• genetic predisposition;
• warm, humid environments;
• immunosuppression;
• malnutrition; and
• Cushing disease.

Treatment of Tinea Versicolor

There is no permanent cure for tinea versicolor. The problem of cure is largely due to the fact that the small fungus can get down into the hair follicles, and when a clinical cure appears to have been achieved, the infection may still be present in the depths of the hair follicles. Then, when the patient perspires excessively, the organism comes back up onto the surface again and reinfects, and the clinical infection is obvious. The patient therefore may need to continue to treat himself intermittently for years with anti-dandruff shampoos containing mild antimycotic agents such as selenium sulfide. Tinea versicolor can be successfully treated with various agents. Effective topical agents include selenium sulfide, sodium sulfacetamine, ciclopiroxolamine, as well as azole and allylamine antifungals. Various regimens can be used. Selenium sulfide lotion is liberally applied to affected areas of the skin daily for 2 weeks; each application is allowed to remain on the skin for at least 10 minutes prior to being washed off. In resistant cases, overnight application can be helpful. Topical azole antifungals can be applied every night for 2 weeks.