Painless dark-coloured patch on my skin

I am a teenager of a fair complexion.

For several weeks now, I have had a light brown patch of skin high up on my thigh. The texture feels slightly rougher than surrounding skin, and the hair on the area of my thigh has stopped growing. It is not itchy or painful, but when I scratch it then there is an itch that stays for awhile.

What is it? Is it benign? I also put my handphone in my left pocket usually, and the phone usually falls to the area where my patch is. Could it have caused the patch?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I cannot confirm anything without examination but it can be contact dermatitis, hyperpigmentation skin or some sort of fungal infection. This darkening occurs when an excess of melanin, the brown pigment that produces normal skin color, forms deposits in the skin.

I suggest you to get it evaluated from a dermatologist so that diagnosis can be confirmed. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Terresquall]

I will get the opinion and diagnosis of a general practitioner and update you on the results. Thank you for your help.

I was hoping for it to automatically heal though. Any chance of that?