Q. For the past 17 months my partner and I have a terrible itch all over. Initially we thought we had been infected with scabies so we applied Derbac M over and over again, but to no avail. We would get relief for a while, perhaps a couple of weeks after application, and then it was back to square one. We took ail the necessary precautions, such as changing the clothes, bedclothes, avoiding wearing shoes which might be infected, etc. However, I am extremely concerned as I have also developed white oval patches on the back of my hands, torso/abdomen and a little on the arms and other parts. I am afraid that this may be vitiligo. However, we still have the itch and this is not a coincidence. I went to a dermatologist who briefly looked at my patches and diagnosed it as vitiligo. However, she then went on to prescribe an antifungal shampoo to be applied for a couple of weeks to the patches. I have now visited a homeopath who, on hearing all the facts, was inclined to think that perhaps the white patches were caused by something else connected to either whatever was causing the itch or the cream that I used to treat what I thought was scabies. Can you please advise me? The homeopath has given me an antifungal spray to use for some weeks and also a herbal medicine containing vitamin E to take orally 3 times a day. I do not know if this is vitiligo after all, but what about the itch?
A. You need not panic whether or not it is vitiligo. As you have itching with white patches, it may be fungal infection or something else for which you need not worry. Therefore, a careful skin examination and a simple laboratory procedure such as a KOH test will be able to detect the fungus and a suitable antifungal cream such as clotrimazole can be used. To relieve your itching, antihistamine tablets such as Cetrizine or Loratidine will be useful. A qualified dermatologist in your area can do this. With this treatment the fungus gets destroyed. The white patches still remain after the treatment, and it will take a few weeks for repigmentation to appear.
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