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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. The patches show well on camera, and a doctor can prescribe antifungal treatment, including tablets for large areas.
- What it is: a common yeast infection of the skin that causes flaky, discoloured patches, mainly on the chest, back, neck and upper arms.
- Not contagious: it cannot spread from person to person, and it is not caused by poor washing.
- After treatment: the infection clears within 2 to 4 weeks, but skin colour can take 2 to 3 months to return to normal, and it often returns in summer.
- Emergency: pityriasis versicolor is not an emergency, but call 112 for swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or difficulty breathing after a new medicine.
Pityriasis versicolor is not urgent. A widespread rash with blistering, or yellow skin or eyes, after starting antifungal tablets needs prompt medical advice. Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or difficulty breathing, needs 112.
Can an online doctor treat pityriasis versicolor?
Yes. Pityriasis versicolor has a typical look, with flaky patches that are paler or darker than the skin around them, so a doctor by video can usually recognise it and tell it apart from vitiligo, psoriasis and other rashes. The doctor explains how to use an antifungal shampoo or cream, prescribes antifungal tablets for large areas or when creams have not worked, and plans how to stop it coming back.
How an online consultation helps with pityriasis versicolor
- A clear diagnosis: Pityriasis versicolor, vitiligo or another rash: the doctor tells them apart from the pattern and scale.
- Treatment used well: How to apply an antifungal shampoo to the skin, and for how long, so it works.
- Tablets when needed: Antifungal tablets for large areas or when shampoos and creams have not worked.
- Less chance of a repeat: A simple maintenance routine before warm, humid weather returns.
What the doctor checks in an online consultation
The doctor asks about:
- The patches: where they are, their colour, whether they are flaky or itchy, and when they appeared.
- Sun and season: whether the patches showed up after a holiday or in summer, or do not tan.
- Sweating: heavy sweating, sport, and hot, humid places.
- What you have tried: shampoos, creams, and how long you used them.
- Your health: diabetes, a weakened immune system, pregnancy and the medicines you take, which matters for tablets.
- Earlier episodes: whether it has happened before.
Before the call, find good daylight, and gently scratch a patch: fine scale coming off suggests the infection is still active.
Pityriasis versicolor symptoms
Pityriasis versicolor causes patches of skin to change colour. The patches:
- usually appear on the chest, upper back, upper arms, neck, armpits or tummy
- are pink, red or pale brown on white skin, and do not tan in the sun
- tend to be paler than the surrounding skin on brown or black skin, though some are darker
- have sharp edges and may feel scaly, with a fine flaky surface, and can sometimes be mildly itchy
- are usually painless
The name refers to the change in colour, and the patches come in three types: white or pale patches, where the yeast stops the pigment cells working properly; coppery-brown patches; and pink patches, which are mildly inflamed and can occur with seborrhoeic dermatitis. Pityriasis versicolor is harmless and does not scar. The doctor usually diagnoses it by looking; under a special ultraviolet lamp, called a Wood’s lamp, the patches can glow yellow-green, and a skin scraping can confirm it.
Pityriasis versicolor or something else?
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Condition | What points to it |
|---|---|
| Pityriasis versicolor | Pale, pink or brown patches with fine scale on the chest, back and upper arms |
| Vitiligo | Milky-white patches with no scale, often on the face, hands and skin creases |
| Pityriasis rosea | One larger patch first, then oval patches in a tree pattern on the back |
| Seborrhoeic dermatitis | Red, greasy, flaky patches on the chest, often with dandruff |
| Psoriasis | Thicker, well-defined red plaques with silvery scale |
What causes pityriasis versicolor?
Pityriasis versicolor is caused by a yeast called Malassezia that lives on everyone’s skin. Most people carry it without any problem, but sometimes it grows more than usual and causes the patches. It is not always clear why this happens, and most people who get it are otherwise healthy.
It is most common in people in their teens and twenties, slightly more common in men, and more common in hot, humid climates than in cool, dry ones, so it often appears in summer or after a holiday somewhere warm, and may fade in winter. People who sweat heavily are more likely to get it, and some also have dandruff. It is not caused by poor washing, it is not inherited, and it cannot spread to other people.
The yeasts have nothing to do with yeast in food or with the yeast that causes thrush, so there is no need to change your diet. The patches stay pale in the sun because the yeasts make chemicals that stop the skin underneath from tanning.
How to treat pityriasis versicolor
Pityriasis versicolor usually only goes away when it is treated. A pharmacist can advise on an antifungal shampoo or cream:
- Apply an antifungal shampoo, such as ketoconazole or selenium sulfide, to the affected skin, not just the scalp: spread it widely from the jawline down over the chest, back and arms.
- Leave it on for about 10 minutes, or up to a quarter of an hour, as the leaflet says, then rinse it off in the shower.
- Repeat as directed, often daily for a week, then follow the leaflet or the doctor’s plan for maintenance.
- For small patches, an antifungal cream, such as clotrimazole, miconazole or terbinafine cream, is an alternative.
See a doctor if you are not sure what the patches are, if they cover a large area, or if shampoos and creams have not worked.
Which pityriasis versicolor treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment depends on how much skin is affected and what you have tried. This is the framework the doctors use, in line with NHS and dermatology guidance.
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| A few patches | An antifungal cream or shampoo on the skin | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Large areas of the chest and back | An antifungal shampoo on the skin, or antifungal tablets | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Not cleared with shampoo or cream | Antifungal tablets | Yes | If it still does not clear |
| Comes back every summer | A shampoo routine every few weeks, or before summer | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Diagnosis unclear | A skin scraping or a check with a UV lamp | Yes, to assess | For the tests |
Patches not clearing with shampoo? A doctor can check what they are and prescribe treatment in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for pityriasis versicolor
What you can do yourself
- Use an antifungal shampoo on the skin, as a body wash left on for a few minutes, for the full course.
- Wear loose, breathable clothing in hot weather, and shower after sweating.
- Use sun protection: patches do not tan, and tanning the skin around them makes them stand out more.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. For large areas, or when shampoos and creams have not worked, the doctor can prescribe antifungal tablets, such as itraconazole or fluconazole. Terbinafine tablets, which treat other fungal infections, do not work for pityriasis versicolor. The doctor checks your other medicines and health before prescribing tablets. Tablets clear the infection but do not stop it coming back, so a shampoo routine on the skin is still worth keeping up. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Stopping treatment early, or using it only where you can see patches, lets the yeast come back. Tanning makes the patches stand out more, because they do not tan.
How long until my skin colour returns?
A course of shampoo or cream usually lasts 1 to 2 weeks: for example, selenium sulfide on the skin or an antifungal cream for about 2 weeks. Using it now and then for a few months afterwards can help stop it returning.
Treatment clears the infection, but the colour of the patches can take a few months to return to normal, especially pale patches. Colour changes that remain after the scale has gone do not mean treatment has failed.
Pityriasis versicolor often comes back, especially when the weather turns warm and humid again, because the yeasts live on normal skin. Using an antifungal shampoo on the skin regularly, for example every few weeks or once a month, usually prevents it. Avoiding too much heat and sweating helps too. Your doctor can suggest a routine.
Before a sunny holiday
If you have had pityriasis versicolor before, wash your upper body with an anti-dandruff shampoo for a few weeks before a summer holiday or a trip somewhere hot and humid, and pack it to use while you are away.
Special situations
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Antifungal tablets are usually avoided in pregnancy, so treatment is with creams or shampoo on the skin. Tell the doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Heavy sweating
Sweating helps the yeast grow. Treating heavy sweating can help stop it coming back.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When pityriasis versicolor is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: diagnosis of typical pityriasis versicolor, antifungal shampoos and creams, antifungal tablets, maintenance routines, and advice on how long colour takes to return.
In-person care: skin scrapings or a UV lamp check when the diagnosis is unclear, and patches that do not clear with treatment.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or difficulty breathing after a new medicine
- blistering or peeling skin with sores in the mouth or eyes
Get medical advice the same day for:
- yellow skin or eyes, or dark urine, after starting antifungal tablets
- a new widespread rash after starting antifungal tablets
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the patches: show them on camera in daylight, and say what you have used and when they appeared.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to use and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s pityriasis versicolor? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Vitiligo can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about pityriasis versicolor
What is pityriasis versicolor?
Pityriasis versicolor, also called tinea versicolor, is a common yeast infection of the skin. It causes flaky, discoloured patches, mainly on the chest, back, neck and upper arms.
Is pityriasis versicolor contagious?
No. Pityriasis versicolor is caused by a yeast that lives on everyone’s skin, so it cannot be caught from or passed to another person by touch, towels or bedding; the patches appear when your own skin’s yeast overgrows in warm, humid conditions, which is why it tends to recur in the same person each summer rather than spread around a household.
Why are the patches lighter than my skin?
The pityriasis versicolor yeasts make chemicals that stop the pigment cells working properly and stop the skin under the patches from tanning. On brown or black skin the patches are usually paler, and on white skin they are often pink or brown and do not tan.
Will pityriasis versicolor go away on its own?
Usually not. Pityriasis versicolor normally only goes away when it is treated, although it may fade in winter and return in summer. An antifungal shampoo or cream clears it, though the colour takes longer to return.
How do I treat pityriasis versicolor?
For pityriasis versicolor, spread an antifungal shampoo, such as ketoconazole or selenium sulfide, over the affected skin, leave it on for a few minutes as the leaflet says, and rinse. Large or stubborn areas may need antifungal tablets.
What can I do at home for pityriasis versicolor?
Use an antifungal shampoo on the affected skin as a wash, leaving it on for the time the leaflet gives before rinsing, every day for a week or two and then weekly; shower soon after sweating, dry the skin well, wear loose breathable clothing, avoid oily skin products on the chest and back, change bedding and towels during treatment, and protect the patches from the sun while the colour evens out. Pityriasis versicolor usually clears with this alone.
How long does it take for the colour to come back?
Treatment clears the pityriasis versicolor infection within 2 to 4 weeks, and the flaking stops, but the skin colour can take 2 to 3 months to return to normal, longer if the patches are pale and the surrounding skin is tanned; even colour returns faster with sun protection, because the patches cannot tan while the rest of the skin darkens. Pale patches that persist after 3 months are a reason to check for vitiligo.
Why does pityriasis versicolor keep coming back?
The pityriasis versicolor yeast lives on everyone’s skin and grows more in warm, humid weather and with sweating. Using an antifungal shampoo on the skin every few weeks, or before summer, usually prevents it.
How can I prevent pityriasis versicolor coming back?
Because the yeast is always on the skin, pityriasis versicolor returns in many people, often within a year or two and usually in summer. An antifungal shampoo used on the skin once every 2 to 4 weeks, or for a few days before holidays and hot weather, keeps the yeast down; showering after exercise, breathable fabrics, avoiding oily lotions and keeping the skin dry help too, and people with frequent recurrences are sometimes prescribed occasional antifungal tablets.
Is pityriasis versicolor related to diet or thrush?
No. The yeasts that cause pityriasis versicolor live on everyone’s skin and are not related to yeast in food or to the yeast that causes thrush, so there is no need to change your diet.
Is pityriasis versicolor dangerous?
No. Pityriasis versicolor is a common, harmless rash that does not scar, and most people who get it are otherwise healthy. It is treated because of how it looks, and the colour returns over a few months.
Is pityriasis versicolor the same as vitiligo?
No. Vitiligo causes milky-white patches with no scale, because the pigment cells are lost. Pityriasis versicolor patches are flaky, and the colour returns after treatment.
Is it pityriasis versicolor or something else?
Pityriasis versicolor patches are slightly scaly, with fine flakes when scratched, many of them close together on the trunk, and they fade with antifungal treatment. Vitiligo patches are completely white, smooth, not scaly and often around the eyes, mouth, hands or feet. Pityriasis alba is faint dry patches on the cheeks of children; post-inflammatory marks follow a rash and sit where it was; and seborrhoeic dermatitis is greasy and yellowish on the scalp and chest. The doctor tells them apart on camera.
Do terbinafine tablets treat pityriasis versicolor?
No. Terbinafine tablets treat some fungal infections, such as fungal nails, but they do not work against the Malassezia yeast of pityriasis versicolor, even though terbinafine cream can. When tablets are needed, for large or stubborn patches, itraconazole or fluconazole are used, usually for a short course after a consultation, because they can interact with other medicines.
Can an online doctor treat pityriasis versicolor?
Yes, usually. A doctor can recognise pityriasis versicolor on camera, tell it apart from vitiligo and other causes of pale or dark patches, explain how to use antifungal shampoo on the skin, and prescribe tablets for large or stubborn patches, with the prescription usable at a pharmacy near you and never issued without a consultation.
- Pityriasis versicolor, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 11 March 2026.
- Pityriasis versicolor, DermNet, New Zealand, updated August 2021.
- Pityriasis versicolor: patient information leaflet, British Association of Dermatologists, updated June 2023.
- Tinea versicolor, MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, reviewed 14 October 2024.
- Tinea versicolor: treatment and management, Medscape, updated 9 June 2020.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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