Since senior year of high school, I’ve almost always had some form of fungal infection on my tumtum. I noticed the hyperpigmentated spot around my bra line when I got into college. When the laser hair removal technician saw it, she dismissed it as discoloration due to my light use of tanning beds. I didn’t feel comfortable with the explanation. Somehow I found out about skin fungus, and I saw the family doctor during the summer. His response to seeing the spot twice the size of a quarter was, “God-damn!”
It is awesome when a professional is wowed by your issue.
He prescribed some regular-type topical cream, but it didn’t really work. Round two a month later was super expensive topical cream. It went away! And it left for a good while, coming back a few years later in a couple spots around my belly button, so to the student health center I went. I showed my primary doc and we went with the super strength right away rather than going through the bullshit of the weak-ass crap. Success yet again!
Wellllll it came back again. I have little spots scattered across my abdomen.
The hyperpigmentation can easily be dismissed as birth marks — maybe cute? This latest incarnation was first given the wussy-cream used for a month with no change. I finally got to see my primary, and she prescribed a body shampoo as well as a pill to take before I work out. I did the pill before running today and hung out in my sweat for half the day. Hopefully that plus the body shampoo will finally kick my skin back into clearsville.
Whenever I talk about it to people, they have an auto-jerk move backward. It never itched me, and I never gave it to anyone else that I’m aware of, and I don’t quite know why it’s considered dirty as it’s been a recurring part of my life for seven years. LET’S LEARN TOGETHER. I was never explained what type of fungus it exactly was or is.
The simplest, best explanation I’ve found so far on my type of fungus:
Tinea Versicolor. This fungus actually changes the color of the skin it infects; the patches may be lighter or darker than your normal surrounding skin. This spotted pattern and the fine scaly flakes at the margins make this fungal infection the easiest to identify. Since itching and irritation are mild, it’s also the least bothersome.
Prevention
Don’t share towels or clothes.
Wear thongs or other footwear in public locker rooms, pools, and showers.
Always wear a thick T-shirt or sweatshirt and long shorts or sweat pants while sharing exercise equipment.
Wipe off vinyl surfaces with a dry towel before using exercise equipment. quickcare
This type of fungus is the annoying sort. It isn’t itchy and I don’t get flaky skin. This is actually a yeast who wanted to party. The bacteria is normally present on the surface of the human body, but it will explode in population from time to time for… reasons. They are mystical. Diagnosis is made with a skin sample. Hmmm never got one of those done. Treatment takes 2-4 weeks, with skin pigmentation returning to normal much later. The skin has to shed the layers with the dead yeast before normal skin can make an appearance.
The only bad things I’ve been able to find involve itching. End of list.
Okay when it gets bad the spots are pretty huge.
All the articles I’ve been reading mention preventative measures to keep it from coming back: using a body shampoo a couple times each month is supposed to do the trick. For us body building types *cough* we’ll be using towels more when using benches in the gyms. Avoiding tight clothes is an extra help.
Some sources say it isn’t contagious, but they may be focusing on different types? Others emphasize keeping shared surfaces dry. They all say it’s normal fungus that went out of wack and to avoid leaving sweaty clothes on. I don’t know. It’s 3am. I’m done.
Fungus Infections Quick Care
Tinea Versicolor American Academy of Dermatology
Tinea Versicolor American Osteopathic College of Dermatology
Tinea Versicolor Mayo Clinic
Tinea versicolor is harmless but can recur the honolulu advertiser
