Causes And Symptoms Of Tinea Versicolor
Tinea versicolor is a fungal infection that affects the cutaneous tissues. It is found to affect the people between the age of 15 and 24 as during this period the sebaceous glands will be very active. Attack of tinea versicolor is rarely reported before puberty and after 65 years.
This skin infection is usually seen in areas of high relative humidity and high temperature. The chances of developing this disease are equivalent in both sex and in all races. This is not a contagious disease and only affects the top of the skin.
This disease causes change in skin color and the affected skin may become darker or lighter in color when compared to the surrounding tissues. The color of the skin may range from white, red to brown.
At times the affected skin appears normal and the surrounding tissues seem to be problematic. Usually it affects the skin on the back, shoulders, chest, crooks of the arm, skin under the breast, groin or on any skin folds. In the case of hypo pigmentation the production of skin pigments called melanocytes are inhibited resulting in the formation of white patches.
While in hyper pigmentation the fungus induces the production of melanocytes resulting in red or brown color on the skin. Over heating and sweating of the body may result in itching on the patches of the skin.
Tinea Versicolor is caused by a fungus called Melassezia furfur. This fungus is normally present on the skin but at favourable conditions it grows rapidly and thus its balance gets altered. Over population of this fungus on the skin causes the patches.
The incidence of this disease is more common when the humidity increases along with high temperature. Immune suppression, hormonal abnormalities, malnutrition, genetic predisposition, pregnancy, oral contraceptives, steroid therapy etc are serves to be the risk factors of getting this disease.
If you have such symptoms on your skin then you have to consult a dermatologist who can treat this disease very well.
