WTF is going on with my skin?

March 10, 2016 1:35 PM

My legs have developed some weird pigmentation. It doesn't hurt, it just looks super unfortunate. I want to be better armed before a doctor's appt. Help?

Photo: http://i.pictr.com/uit7ks5q4g.jpg

I noticed this last week. Same sex partners for the last 3-4 months. Again, doesn't hurt. Isn't really acting like acne. I've been dealing with a more explicitly acne like thing on my face for a while that looks similar but not the same, and that spot itches. My legs do not itch.

What the hell? I will take guesses. I want some less scary info than what I'll get from Dr Google.

TYIA

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

Mild allergic reaction/inflammation due to tight pants?
posted by Fimbaz at 1:44 PM on March 10, 2016

someone i know gets something that looks similar called tinea versicolor... it started coming a couple of years ago in his adult years (spent a good 25 years without it), and once he started treating it, it would go away but then come back in the spring with the warmer weather.

It goes away with a homeopathic soap you buy for around 5 dollars, there's also an internal medicine you can ingest but he tried the soap first, and that was sufficient.
posted by cacao at 1:46 PM on March 10, 2016

Could be some form of erythema. You do want to get that checked out. Have you by any chance been resting your laptop right there on your lap?
posted by praemunire at 1:46 PM on March 10, 2016

You appear to have no hair on your thighs. My go-to guess would be a reaction to whatever hair removal method.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:07 PM on March 10, 2016

Do they go away or lessen if you take Benadryl? Looks to me like a skin irritation/dermatitis. Do you have new skinny jeans or workout tights? Or have you switched detergent or ramped up exercise? New shave cream or waxing method? New soap?
posted by bluedaisy at 2:23 PM on March 10, 2016

New pair of jeans/pants that you wore without washing first?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:24 PM on March 10, 2016

My husband had something like that on his arm -- it turned out to be a mild fungal infection. He got some prescription cream for it, and it went away.
posted by sarcasticah at 3:07 PM on March 10, 2016

It might just be hyper-pigmentation from ingrown hairs. Get it checked out anyway, just in case tho.
posted by ananci at 3:16 PM on March 10, 2016

Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like the bumps have a little silvery-white head, in which case I would guess molluscum contagiosum.
posted by stillmoving at 4:00 PM on March 10, 2016

I have tinea versicolor. It looks similar to what you've got going on.

Go get some selsun blue shampoo. Rub a little bit on a patch once a day for a few days. If your spots fade, that's likely what you've got. (Selsun Blue contains selenium sulfide, which is what a doc will prescribe if you do the responsible thing and visit a doc and they diagnose tinia versicolor.)
posted by TryTheTilapia at 4:48 PM on March 10, 2016

Was going to suggest tinea versicolor too. Try scraping it gently with a finger--if it's kind of waxy and flakes off, that's it, though sometimes when it's smaller patches it's hard to tell. It's a skin fungus that gets worse with warm, moist conditions. I've had it on my back or trunk since young adulthood (so did my dad, so does my sister).

I prefer nizoral to selsun blue. The prescription nizoral is the best at getting rid of it--usually one wash and it's gone. But OTC nizoral works pretty well, too.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:30 PM on March 10, 2016

Are they raised welts, or "just" pigmentation? If it is pigmentation I would encourage you to visit the doctor sooner rather than later. The pigmentation could be trapped blood cells.
posted by My Dad at 7:59 PM on March 10, 2016

Are you taking a class -cycline antibiotic? Been in the sun afterward?
posted by WinstonJulia at 1:56 PM on March 11, 2016