Tinea versicolor is a fungal infection that produces discolored patches on your skin. The patches may be red or pink, or simply lighter or darker than your normal skin color. They may or may not itch. While the patches may look alarming, they're not an indicator of any serious illness or nutritional deficiency. In fact, the organism that causes tinea versicolor, Malassezia furfur, also known as pityrosporum orbiculare, lives on the skin of everyone.
Causes
Heat and sweating contribute to tinea versicolor, providing the ideal environment for the Malassezia furfur to flourish and change the pigmentation of your skin. Tinea versicolor usually appears on oilier skin, so it's more common in adolescents. Once you've had tinea versicolor, it's likely to reoccur, since the organism that causes it never goes away. As you get older, your chances of having the condition decrease because your skin becomes less oily. People who live in warmer climates or who exercise regularly are more likely to have the condition because heat and intense physical activity make you sweat more.
Treatment
Your doctor will take a skin scraping of one of the discolored areas on your skin and examine it under a microscope to diagnose tinea versicolor. Antifungal creams or ointments or medicated shampoos are the standard treatment. Daily application of these to the affected areas leads to drying and flaking of the skin. The pigmentation fades over several weeks. Regular use of these medications may help prevent recurrence.
Nutrition
Malassezia furfur lives in healthy skin, so its presence is not an indication of any nutritional deficit. It grows in the normal oils of your skin, which are also necessary for skin health. Treatments are topical, not nutritional. A balanced diet is necessary for overall good health, but no research suggests eating certain foods or eliminating certain foods will have any effect on tinea versicolor.
Yeast Infections and Tinea
Malassezia furfur is a kind of yeast, and some alternative medicine practitioners have suggested a connection between tinea versicolor and excess yeast in your body. But the yeast in your body, Candidas albicans, is a different variety than Malassezia furfur. The fungus lives on the outer surface of the skin with very little tissue involvement.
