What is Tinea Versicolor?
Tinea versicolor (say “TIH-nee-uh VER-sih-kuh-ler”) is a fungal infection caused by the yeast Malassezia furfur. This yeast is normally found on human skin and only becomes troublesome under certain circumstances, such as a warm and humid environment. It causes many small, flat spots on the skin. The spots can be flaky or mildly itchy. The many small spots may blend into large patchy areas, usually on the oily parts of the upper body like the chest and back. The spots can be either lighter or darker than the skin around them. In people with dark skin tones, pigmentary changes such as hypopigmentation (loss of color) are common, while in those with lighter skin color, hyperpigmentation (increase in skin color) are more common.
