What are the light patches appearing on my skin?
Light patches on the skin are typically tinea versicolor, an overgrowth of normal skin yeast in heat and humidity. They are fine and slightly scaly, light or tan, across the chest, back and shoulders. They are more visible after sun. Antifungal washes and creams clear it, though color takes months to even out.
Completely white, smooth patches with no scale, often around eyes, mouth or hands, suggest vitiligo, which is a different condition deserving specialist input, best early.
Dry pale patches on children's cheeks are usually mild eczema, not fungus. When patches spread or resist a proper antifungal trial, a skin scrape settles the identity in minutes.
Source: NHS, pityriasis versicolor
See a doctor promptly if
- A light patch that is numb to light touch, which needs prompt medical assessment
- Rapidly spreading chalk-white patches, or white patches with hearing or eye changes
- Any patch that is also scaly, raised at the edge and spreading in a ring with a clearer center, alongside fever or in someone with a weak immune system
Try the symptom diary10 seconds a day, free, nothing to installSkin follows what you touched, ate and changed. A dated week shows the pattern a photograph cannot.
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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