Patches in the beard, head, itchy. What can this be?
Patient: Hi, about 6 months ago I was working in Queensland, we towed a barge in a tugboat all the way from mackay to Brisbane, this took in all 6 days and when we arrived at our hotel room to my surprise I had two round ten cent like circles in my beard, I went to my local gp and he referred me to a specialist that was 4 months ago, I have slowly noticed it get bigger and bigger so I booked the specialist and still have a two week wait, I shaved my hair off two weeks ago not for any reason except a change and soon realized I had two more patches but these have massively expanded and now theres easy a dozen or more and I can pretty much tell by sight they are getting bigger every day, even with a completely shaved head they are extremely noticeable because the skin is a pale white smooth and also I have noticed my head is becoming more and more itchy, I am really starting to worry have you any ideas what this could be.. Doctor: Hello. Thanks for using this forum. By the description of your clinical symptoms this seems to be some sought of infection perhaps of fungal origin, as these tend to spread fast and be more itchy. However as you have already booked with the specialist, he/she can determine its cause by taking even a small skin biopsy. Usually for such conditions antifungal creams along with antifungal shampoos are usually prescribed. Feel free to write in. Regards.