what can i do?

I am 21 years of age and want to be tan, I go to the lake every weekend and use oil to tan. I have developed white spots all over my body. I have just started a new job and won't have insurance for 1 month, so I can't go to the DR. What can I do now to get rid of them, before they start spreading. How can I avoid them, but still gat tan?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Chrissy:

Most likely, the white spots you describe are tinea versicolor, a fungus infection common on the chest and back of young people.  This is not contagious and easy to treat, but tanning "lights up" the white spots and makes them more noticeable.

Try applying Selsun blue overnight and washing off in the morning.  After 7 days, any fungus should be dead, though the color will take some time, perhaps months, before it evens out.

Your best bet to even up your color before you get the condition firmly diagnosed and treated is to get artificial tanning lotion, which is quite safe and should give you the color you crave.

Best.

Dr. R