ctnelson (Dupage, IL) on 05/19/2024
Hello! I’ve read many comments for many ailments and want to say thank you as this is my first post.
Every summer since around 2012 (very hot and humid Memorial Day weekend-long yard work) I’ve had tinea versicolor. Had my doctor look at my back in 2015 and was prescribed oral ketoconazole for two weeks and it worked but I sure felt physically weak (I workout). A few months later it was back and I stopped seeing that doctor after I learned ketoconazole lowers testosterone temporarily along with many other possible adverse side effects.
Every summer or other times I’d sweat the red spots and itchiness would return and then leave white spots after sun exposure, annoying and cosmetically not cool as it also started to appear on my shoulders, inner elbows, spotty on forearms and lower biceps.
Last week I came across an article that sulfur soap is good for all types of skin ailments; eczema, psoriasis, acne, tinea versicor, ring worm, warts(?), etc. Looked on Amazon for a 10% sulfur soap and read reviews and thought I didn’t have much to lose except money. I’ve been using it for 6 days now but noticed the red spots from new occurrences were gone on day 4 also after being outside in some humid weather and sweating. It says to use the soap twice a day for 4-10 days but I only use it once before bed because sulfur smells and I don’t want to be so potent smelling during the day. I lather up in the shower and also use it for my hair/scalp as I was having some slight dandruff and leave it on for 2-5 minutes. It looks like sulfur kills the overgrowth of Malassezia, one of the yeasts on our skin. I would recommend giving it a try!
Val (Mississippi USA) on 12/11/2022
Found out by accident that raw cranberry juice (no sugar or apple juice added ) stops the spread. Every year for almost 10 years, no outbreak. Just shower well, dry off, then apply to skin at bedtime. Let it dry. Put on PJs so you don't stain the sheets. Shower off in the morning. I do this for 2 or 3 nights each winter (when fresh cranberries are available). The raw cranberry concentrate works the quickest. A little pricey. But worth it.
10 years with only a mild flare up. After 35 years of having it. I even get an even tan in summer. No blotches.
Alex (Greece/Thessaloniki) on 05/11/2020
Oregano Oil for Tinea Versicolor Dayna T (Houston, TX) on 04/28/2020
After another year of dabbling on and off, I grew tired of dealing with it, especially since it spread to my back. I applied straight oregano oil from Greece. It burned (FIRE) for a few minutes, but by the next day it was GONE. I decided to reapply for another couple days to be sure. The next applications were mixed with coconut oil. It's been a week and it's still gone.
Lauren (Buffalo) on 10/20/2020
I have never been free of the itch for more than a few days. I tried all of the topicals including sulfur, anti-dandruff, nizoral shampoo and a LOT of essential oils. Cumin essential oil (based on countless hours of research into studies) has a good inhibition rate in the lab for various strains of the yeast that cause tinea. I tried it with MCT oil topically, because you want an oil that doesn't feed the yeast. This was pretty good at cutting the itch and so was betadine, which shouldn't be used for very long. Betadine has been said to cure tinea in studies. It definitely helps, but the itch would always come back. I feel like I needed something internal.
The more I read about root causes the more I explored the idea of feeding the bacteria we already have, vs. getting rid of all of the bacteria. When you have the right amounts of good bacteria they will keep all of the bad bacteria in check. It's always a competition in the gut and on the skin. But I believe the internal fight can make its way to the skin with many routes.
I started reading about the power of inulin fiber and how it increases bifidobacterium and there are many benefits to this. Anyways, I am still experimenting but I have not been itchy for weeks and the only thing I changed, was eating jicama daily (buy it at the grocery store, it's in the root vegetable section, and eating about 1/4 cup -1/2 a day. I eat it plain, or you can add it to smoothies. It's kind of like a light apple texture. Like jerusalem artichoke it is very high in inulin. I can't find the jerusalem artichokes anywhere, so I've been eating the jicama. I also add kefir to my smoothie which I think is a great way to get the prebiotic power of inulin to boost the probiotics and help them take root in the body (but kefir on its own has never been enough). You could try inulin supplement powders, and I am going to look into other prebiotics powders in addition to food. I will update in a few months to see if there are any changes. I am going to be trying ginger topically to see if I can get my pigment to come back. I am sooo excited to be free of the itch for now.
I think of it this way, we all have seeds in the garden (probiotics), but the prebiotics are the fertilizer to make the probiotics blossom like crazy. When you take the anti-candida stuff you're eliminating the good and bad bacteria, but if you don't rebalance with a lot of good, then the bad slowly takes over again. Probiotics alone usually do not take hold very well. We all have good bacteria in the gut, so just feed that!
S.Andrew (Denver, Co) on 08/20/2018
I first discovered I had Tinea in 2012. I noticed a spot on my neck and also my right bicep. I tried all sorts of things on it, from; Tea Tree Oil, cortisone, doctor prescribed creams. It only proceeded to get worse regardless of what I tried. As the years went on it spread down my arms, all over my chest, up my neck and all over my back. Even down in to my thighs. I felt hopeless.
I was living in Central PA at the time, which is pretty hot and humid during the summer. At night, my skin would crawl and itch. I did my best to eliminate sugar, beer, tobacco, etc. It seemed the worse my Tinea got, the worse I got. I grew hopeless that I would live with this for the rest of my life! I would shower twice a day, change my bed sheets every few days. I did all sorts of things. I would apply it after the shower from head to toe, and then go to bed. It was quite the routine. I even created my own creams with Coconut oil, tea tree oil, oil of oregano, and grapefruit seed extract, which helped the inflammation the best. It helped, but didn't really make a dent.
Of course I noticed when I avoided sugar or the heat and humidity my skin would do better, but overall it was still there and itching.
In my life at the time I had difficulty avoiding alcohol, sugar, carbs, etc. I also struggled with depression and anxiety and understood the connection between the food, and mood. My life seemed like I would get started going in the right direction and then I often just gave up again.
After years of battling the ups and downs with tinea I just learned to live with it. I will say that over the years, I sought out different spiritual practices too. Very few helped practically, I practiced hot power yoga, which if you read a lot of the tinea forums, they tell you it will cause your skin to become inflamed. For me, it did get somewhat inflamed, but it also seemed to recede too. Eventually my yoga practice fell off, my tinea came back just as strong again.
It wasn't until I moved to Colorado in the cooler, dry climate that I noticed less flare ups. Over all, it was less inflamed from the things I ate, like carbs, sugars, or an occasional beer. It's now 2018 and 6 years later, I can say that my tinea is very much receding. In addition to the environmental and climate change, I also started wearing a copper bracelet I purchased at a Meditation Event.
When I was pursuing the items, a bracelet jumped out at me and I felt really drawn to it. I walked around a bit, but eventually came back. I bought the copper bracelet and within a week I noticed a difference in my skin. My skin hadn't flared up at all. Not even much when I had a beer. And as the weeks went on, it continued to recede. Now, about 2 months from when I purchased the bracelet, the red splotches and patches on my chest and back have receded to where they don't even touch anymore. If you look at my chest, what would look like goose bumps are just the Tinea dwindling away in to the pours of my skin. I used to be literally covered on my chest to where you couldn't even tell I had normal skin. My skin was just chronically inflamed and I will say I was lucky in a way. I have olive red skin and once the tinea covered me, it was hard to tell I had it. But if you looked under my forearms where it's pale, it was really blotchy and kinda off putting. But even under my forearms has dissipated to the point you can't see it. Lastly, in addition to the copper bracelet, I have been practicing Kriya Yoga and that has helped my overall well being with anxiety and depression.
While these things may not be supplements or creams, I can say that what I read about Copper Bracelets in Indian culture makes sense to me. That an imbalance of any mineral can cause issues in the nervous system. It seems for me, I was lacking copper and I've been able to absorb it through the skin beneficially. I share this not as a solution for everyone, but as hope that it does get better.
To those out there still looking for an answer after everything they've tried still didn't work. Don't give up. You'll find your solution if you keep searching.
Aloe and Tea Tree Oil for Tinea Versicolor Mama To Many (Tn) on 06/05/2018
I have tried a number of natural things for him but they are usually oil based and will get on clothing. Plus natural remedies often take longer to get results, so he has not followed through with these.
I recently purchased some aloe gel in a bottle with a pump. So I decided to try some aloe gel and tea tree oil on his tinea versicolor. I would pump out 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of aloe gel and drop 2-3 drops of tea tree oil onto the little bit of aloe and apply this to his back once or twice a day.
We have both been delighted and surprised with how well it worked - better than the OTC stuff without leaving the skin greasy. Such a cheap option and better for the skin than an OTC antifungal.
I have also been using that aloe gel after applying magnesium oil to avoid the itch from the magnesium oil.
I had bought the aloe gel when we were on a family trip and I was wanting to be prepared for any sunburn. I did use it on one child who did get a bit of a burn in an area that he had not put sunscreen on and it worked.
Where has aloe in a pump bottle been all my life? In just 2 weeks I have found 3 uses for it!
~Mama to Many~
Cathy (Halifax, Ns Canada) on 07/18/2016
30 Years of Tinea Versicolor Cured With ACV in 4 Applications! Steve (Virginia) on 05/16/2016
Mine was gone after 3-4 applications.
Siinvincible (Wales) on 05/01/2016
After just three days of taking 6 drops oregano oil in water twice a day (it's strong stuff, mind... I started on the first day with just three drops in water twice a day), and one 500mg caprylic acid capsule twice a day (before meals), I started noticing a major improvement. Now a week in, I'm feeling much better and the infection is gradually disappearing on my skin.
Yogesh Gandhi (India) on 11/22/2015
And then over the weekend, I applied castor oil thrice a day and coconut oil once a day....And my progress was upto 90%... I am amazed to see its results... It is NO LESS THAN MAGIC.
At some parts I can't even see the spots.
I applied it only on the affected area (not on the whole body). You may apply it on the whole body but concentrate more on the affected area.
Yogesh Gandhi (India) on 11/20/2015
Today is day 3 of me applying coconut oil.
I apply castor oil once in a day and coconut oil 3-4 times in a day...and I can see significant improvement in last 3 days. I will keep you posted on the progress. I am quite hopeful that I will be OK.
Note: I have not stopped the medication of ketoconazole 200mg daily which my doctor prescribed. And applying mycospor (bifonazole) as well once a day.
But I have no doubt this improvement is by coconut oil.
Thanks a lot people for posting your results here.
Marlene (Michigan) on 10/09/2015
Talos (North Carolina) on 08/17/2015
I had been to your site in the past and found a cure for my daughter's warts (ACV) so I came back looking for something to help with this Tinea Versicolor, but I didn't have much hope.
I read through different remedies and settled on Coconut Oil, as I figured I couldn't go wrong with that. I purchased a bottle of Fractionated Coconut Oil, which is in a liquid form, and began applying it to the affected areas both in the morning and at night.
This is like a miracle. I expected it to take weeks, at best, but within a few days the rash I had been living with for years was virtually gone. Within a week there was no sign it had ever existed. No discolouration, nothing at all.
It's a crime that this isn't a cure that's publicized by medical practitioners. I love your site and greatly appreciate the knowledge you've accumulated and the community you've built. I'm in your debt.
Bl (Nz) on 08/10/2015
Anyway, I tried the coconut oil. I had a shower every morning and would scrap out the hard coconut oil with my finger nails and smother my body with it every morning. It was winter and cold and the coconut oil was solid but melted when I put it on my body. It did this every day for a week and then started to see the spots fade, after two weeks they were completely gone. I've been doing this about six weeks now and will continue to use coconut oil as a moisturiser as it has "cured" my rash.
I say "cured" in quotation marks as I think if I stopped this treatment long enough, the rash would come back eventually, as it is hard to completely eradicate apparently, but hey, I'll just keep using the coconut oil for skin care as my skin is so nice now!
Alison (Plymouth, United Kingdom ) on 06/20/2015
Shan (Md) on 02/22/2015
I made a lotion out of coconut oil and patchouli essential oil. I'm not sure if its the coconut oil or the patchouli but it went away after about week. I had it so bad for years...I only use it once a day, after I get out of the shower. I do notice that if I dont use it for a couple days I will start to get itchy again. And it smells a lot better than using ACV!
L.C.l. (Pa) on 12/30/2014
Brian (Central, Nj) on 07/07/2014
I had been to Earth Clinic previously but always pasted over castor oil and focused on other remedies instead (none of which worked for her). So this time we decided to try castor oil and after 5 straight days of external application, her Tinea Verisocolor is gone. We were shocked to see how effective this stuff was and I can't even see traces of where it was on her body. I highly recommend this for anyone struggling with this condition!
For reference, we use the brand sold at Whole Foods, which appears to be pure, unrefined castor oil for skin care.
Jennamarie (Florida) on 02/13/2014
Long story short, the dermatologist diagnosed me with a slight case of keratosis pilaris and prescribed me a topical ointment to try to get rid of it. Unfortunately this treatment didn't work at all, and I eventually just waited it out and it went away.
Since then, I've gotten many cases of what I now now is tinea versicolor, always off and on, and always at the worst times! Just recently I was in the market for a certain type of oil for another reason and began reading about coconut oil and its many benefits. As I read about its anti-fungal, anti-Candida, and anti-bacterial qualities I was thrilled (as I also suffer from occasional bacterial/yeast/candida infections) because I am aware of the fungal nature of tinea versicolor. This discovery also occurred coincidentally during one of my worst tinea v. outbreaks ever.
I decided to purchase some liquid coconut oil and apply it topically on my arms to see if it would live up to its properties/claims, and WOW I'm simply amazed. After only 3 days of use, the spots almost completely vanished (even more so than their normal-state very faint appearance). How the dermatologist missed this one is beyond me, and I'm always thrilled to find a natural remedy for my ailments. Coconut oil for tinea versicolor is a godsend!!!
