Yo there are light spots on my lower back!!! they arn't white but much lighter than my skin color!! what the hell could this be? i think it's spreading too! please help me!!!
Printable View
Yo there are light spots on my lower back!!! they arn't white but much lighter than my skin color!! what the hell could this be? i think it's spreading too! please help me!!!
My god, man, it's Michael Jackson Syndrome! If you're black, you're turning white! And if you're white, you're turning, um, albino! Yeah, that's the ticket . . .
Relax, bro. And get your butt to a doctor. Any doctor will do, although a dermatologist is best. But dermatology appointments are often tough to get (especially as we're just into a weekend), so try to get into your regular doctor's office so you will at least have an idea of what it is - and chances are that your general doc will be able to take care of it anyway.
I'll offer you some comfort in a second, bro, but you gotta sit through the rap first - It could be anything, and we do not have enough of a clincial picture to make an accurate guess on what it is. We are not aware of any conditions to which you may have been exposed, any unusual dietary changes or issues, any cycle or other medications that you're on, etc. You have described white spots, but have not specified whether there are any other symptoms such as rash, itching, burning sensation, scaling, etc.
Now, having said all that, let me repeat one thing: We are not doctors. We care about, and want the best for, each other. But when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, disorders, conditions, and symptoms, we are all rank amateurs. Even members with an M.D. degree cannot diagnose you through the barrier of cyberspace; it takes an in-person examination. Because if we even make a guess and you act on it, we may be wrong. You can learn from us on any number of matters, but don't trust us when it comes to your health. That's what your physician is for.
Now, sit back for a second, and chill out. Read carefully what follows and relax, but call your doctor anyway. Do NOT take my word for it, as I am not a physician, and I will not advise you on what to do except to call your doctor.
Promise. C'mon, ya little dickhead, promise that you'll call the doctor. (Jeez, I feel like I'm Wally talking to the Beaver.)
Okay. What you have sounds like Tinea Versicolor. It's very common, very harmless, and very treatable. If you've never heard of it, it will do a number on your head, but it's nothing to worry about. Here's what The Merck Manual says about it:
(By the way, the dandruff shampoo to which the article refers is Selsun Blue, but there may be others available that are better for it. I know it sounds weird to use shampoo, especially since there's probably no hair where you have the spots, but it's the selenium sulfide in the shampoo that does the trick. Once again, though, don't second guess the situation, and don't take my guess - which is based on the limited information you provided - as necessarily being accurate. See your doctor.)Quote:
TINEA VERSICOLOR
Tinea versicolor is a fungal infection that causes white to light brown patches on the skin.
The infection is quite common, especially in young adults. It rarely causes pain or itching, but it prevents areas of the skin from tanning, producing patches. People with naturally dark skin may notice pale patches; people with naturally fair skin may get dark patches. The patches are often on the chest or back and may scale slightly. Over time, small areas can join to form large patches.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Doctors diagnose tinea versicolor by its appearance. A doctor may use an ultraviolet light to show the infection more clearly or may examine scrapings from the infected area under a microscope. Dandruff shampoos, such as 1 percent selenium sulfide, usually cure tinea versicolor. These shampoos are applied full-strength to the affected areas (including the scalp) at bedtime, left on overnight, and washed off in the morning. Treatment is usually continued for 3 or 4 nights. People who develop skin irritations from this treatment may have to limit the time the shampoo is in contact with their skin to 20 to 60 minutes, or they may need to turn to prescription medications.
The skin may not regain its normal pigmentation for many months after the infection is gone. The condition commonly comes back after successful treatment because the fungus that causes it normally lives on the skin. When the condition does come back, treatment must be repeated.
wow thanx alot man! im going to my doctors real soon! this is been around for about a year now. i think i got it from tanning...shiet..im worried, ill keep ya posted
are they little white some what raised circles? do they itch?
it could be from fake tanning....ive seen it on girls after they already turn orange....loss of pigment in the skin.
Damn, bro, from the panic in your first post, I thought this was something that just came up!Quote:
Originally posted by eradikate
wow thanx alot man! im going to my doctors real soon! this is been around for about a year now. i think i got it from tanning...shiet..im worried, ill keep ya posted
You've had it a year and have been letting it concern you that long? Think of how much easier it would have been if you had it checked out earlier.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that if you get it, you only have a year and two weeks to live?* :roflol:
____________________
* It occurs to me that someone may actually take that comment seriously. No, guys, it is a joke. Okay, um, D00fy? :D
tanning beds , gyms , public bath rooms are nice dirty places
its probably a form of ring worm very common for tanning beds as they are not a clean enviorment. (i got it from a tanning bed)
the doc will give a you a script for a cream and 2-3 days it will be gone. no big deal
thats one of the main reasons i bought my own tanning bed
everybody experiences this at sometime or another it is discolouration of the pigment in the skin
it's starting to get serious man. it's not very visible since i have light skin, but i see it spreading to the front of my body on the side and my stomach. i use some micorozone cream for fungus stuff but it didn't work on me so im guessing it's something else. i also got a lil tiny white spot nxt to my lip which i think is viligy or something? last year was only on my lower back and it was lil so i didn't care much but i just realized how much it spread over a year and it's getting serious on my skin and im very worried. how much is a tanning bed??
Im not a doctor...YET....but i can tell you that all the signs and symptoms lead me to think that your getting sun spots...espacially if you think your getting them from the tanning bed. I know plenty of people that have gotten them that way. good news is that its the same fungus causing your sun spots that cause dandruff. So go out and get your self some, nizoral shampoo, selsun blue, or even head and shoulders shampoo. Although id recommend the 1% nizoral shampoo you can get at any local drug store. in the shower rub it on the spots and leave it on for a little whilt (5-10min) within a few days to weeks the fungus will be killed. But dont think the pigmentation will come back automatically.....that will come back after you kill the fungus and you go out in the sun a few times. Listen im not 100% sure this is what you have but everything i know and studied tells me this is it. No big deal at all a few weeks youll be good as new.
PS if you have a local doc go see him and let me know if i was right??
gorilla
Um, don't take this personally, gorilla, but there is no such thing as "not a doctor...YET."Quote:
Originally posted by gorilla
Im not a doctor...YET....but i can tell you that . . .
I'm not trying to hassle you, bro, but in this particular thread we are talking about a specific medical situation. Therefore, you either are a doctor, or you are not a doctor. We have both here at A.R. And on occasion, we even get people claiming to be doctors when, in fact, they are not - and we do our best to expose them and encourage them to move on, as our goal is to ensure that our members get accurate information. The problem with your self-description is that it will mislead people into thinking that you are more qualified than you really are. Unfortunately, it gives no indication of what you currently are - college student? Medical school student? If so, in which year? Each year of medical school is significantly different in terms of a student's knowledge, practical experience, etc.
That said, I think you are right - and you did everything but refer to the condition's technical name, Tinea Versicolor. Go back to my first post (Post #2 in this thread), and you'll find more information on it.
But more important than that, note how I stressed that I am not a physician. That's called disclosure, bro. Accuracy dictates that we never give the wrong impression about how we are or what our qualifications are. We owe it to the people who ask the questions so their judgment will not be skewed. The reason I do it occasioally is that some people assume that I am a physician, and I don't want to give the wrong impression.
Anyway, don't sweat it - in a few years, hopefully, you'll be able to say that you are a doctor. But you can bet that if you say it here on A.R., there are a few of us who will go into action to verify that you are telling us the truth.
And as for your diagnosis - not bad. I give you an A-, but only because you didn't name the condition. (Count yourself lucky. Because if you are in med school and were presenting this patient's case on rounds, I would have bumped you down two grade points if you left off the name of the condition.) :D
The best bet, as others suggested would be to see a Dr.
Although, maybe you could convince a chick or two that you were not long for this world, and that............. well that's another post entirely.
Good luck at the Doc bro......
nobody notices i have them, even over the summer when im tannned unless i point them out. but this year it's getting worse and i do not want them. i consider i have a pretty good build and not a such an ugly guy, and i dont want this spot to ruin my image and cut down my self confidence. i tried some cream to kill fungus, none of them work. like TNT said i think it's tinea versicolor as i did some reserach myself. right now im hoping not to have any problems because if it did, it'll bug the shit outta me. im really glad that some of you care, and im also happy that i can share some of my problems with you guys and discuss this in a nice mature conversation. normally people would say "eWW he got spots on his back!! hahha", but you guys are helping me so im really glad. im going to the doctor on monday and ill let ya know what i have and a cure for it. because im sure some of you are going to come across this situation and this thread will be very helpful in the future. Thanx alot. GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
Gearnow, you've provided a great perspective - the big problem is not necessarily what we have, but what others will say about us.
Guys, tinea versicolor is similar to zits - not in symptom, but in terms of psyche. You know you're gonna get over them, but it's a major hassle while you have them.
For what it's worth, years after I had my last teenage zit, when I shot test for the first time, I got a couple of major zits. Except at that point, my reaction was, "Hey, cool!" instead of, "Holy shit!"
But we all remember being in zit city at one time in our lives or another, and the only thing I can tell you is that this crap will pass.
Ditto tinea versicolor (and a host of other teen-things and young adult things that are dermatolgical in orientation) - no big whoop, but I do feel for you, bro.
true true
i agree with gorilla cause i had the same thing. I had spots all over my back, thought it was a bacteria or something, but it turned out it was from the sun cause i had a job that was outdoors. I went to the doc and he gave me that shampoo gorilla was talking about. Went away in a few weeks. You should get it checked out, but i dont think it will be serious.
my bad TNT...........your right
gorilla
spots spots spots....everyone's got spots...
I can't wait to come in a doctors office one day and hear this:
Me: Doc, I have a cauliflower stuck in my ear
Dr. Gorrilla: Ok, bend over and let me see
Me: I said my EAR!!!
Dr. Gorrilla: Oh my bad, man, my bad
:)
Bro,
As TNT has stressed please take this for what it is. Some personal insight of mine from some personal experience. I got some spots similar to what you described on my forearm. Mine were RAISED though, i'm not sure if yours are or not.
my dermatologist diagnosed them as some flat head warts. that word sounds harsch but that's all they are. They spread because i shaved my forearms. A little liquid nitrogen and voila, there gone. I don't think you have much to worry about but get to the doc. Good luck
Maybe a yeast infection. My friend that is darker had light spots on his skin and he said the dr. told him it was a yeast infection. I didn't even know that was something that guys got.:unsure:
i went to the doctors. i was told that pigmentation of skin is less in those spots. it is no fungus, or anything. she recommended to eat vitamin b complex and told me it should disappear soon. if ya got simliar problems, try what im doing, it may work for you too
Here in hawaii people get em all the time...Mom always told me it was from using dirty towels and or sharing towels...Some of my friends got big ones....Locals here get them all the time I wonder why?nizoral works great for em ...good luck
nizoral? is that prescribed? but my doc just recommended me some vitamin b complex and c. could you tell me what nizoral is??
Sorry didnt read your previous post about it not being a fungus...Nizoral is a medication used for skin disorders as well as dandruff...WE use this on sunspots but it sounds like youre saying you have something else????????what is it?
my doctor told me i was just losing pimentation on my skin. She didn't tell me what exactly was because she's not a dermatologist. i think im going to visit one because i want to know what it is. But my doc told me to save my money and listen to her. she said go get some vitamin B complex wit c and it'll be gone...mystery
shit guys...i think the spots are spreading day by day!!! i see it coming over to the front!!! my obliques are getting spotty...shiet...
What if you have a bunch of warts on your penis?
Oh god Bigtex...that's nasty man...i don't know about you but mine is warts free...believe it or not it's your choice..