Need help with wifes splotchy back! pics!

My wife has these spots all over her back and its getting worse it looks to be maybe from being in the sun it used to be localized to only her back but she now has a few spots on her stomach. What would be good to do to get them gone??

[IMG]http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu256/musclemach/007.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu256/musclemach/003.jpg[/IMG]

[Skyler386]

The answer is: vitiligo.  It causes loss of pigment.  I have it.  It appears in some areas and may disapear and appear in others.  I had it on my legs and it is mostly gone, not really noticable and now I have little spots of it on my right shoulder.  There is no cure  that will make it go away and you can never be sure if it may end up getting worse.  Some people believe that Michael Jackson had this and it got so bad that he bleached his whole skin so he did not look so funny.

Hope this helps.  
I know it ***** that it won't go away. :(

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are there. Firstly,it can be due to tinea versicolor. Tinea versicolor is caused by a fungus that lives in the skin of almost all adults. Factors that can cause the fungus to become more visible include high humidity and immune or hormone abnormalities.Treatment involves topical and oral antifungal medicines. Most cases of fungal infections respond to over-the-counter products, which contain any of several basic ingredients: miconazole, tolnaftate, terbinafine,ketaconazole and clotrimazole.You can consult a pharmacist and get any cream or lotion containing these ingredients. Some of them are Lamisil, Monistat derm, Mycelex, and Nizoral.

Second possibility is of vitiligo. It is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Diagnosis can be confirmed by external examination, blood tests to check skin cell count  for melanocytes and biopsy of the skin patches.

If the symptoms persist even after using the topical anti fungals then vitiligo has to be probed.

Hope it helps. Take care and pls do keep me posted on how your wife is doing or if you have any additional queries.Kind regards.