How to Heal Your Tinea Versicolor (Naturally)

OCTOBER 2019

OCTOBER 2019

Literally 5 minutes ago..

What is Tinea Versicolor (aka pityriasis)

As the sun glows stronger and the days become hotter our Tinea Versicolor (TV) can come out to play on our skin and leave us feeling like a self conscious, white chocolate chip cookie. If you ask Dr. Google he will tell you that:

Tinea versicolor is caused by an overgrowth of yeast on the skin. It most often affects teens and young adults. The condition isn't contagious.

Symptoms include patches of skin that are lighter or darker than the surrounding skin, often on the trunk and shoulders.

Treatments such as anti-fungal creams, lotions, or shampoos are usually effective. However, skin discoloration may last for weeks to months.

 Dr. Google says it’s a yeast problem on the skin, which is partially true yet fails to understand and address the ROOT CAUSE. Why is there yeast proliferating on the skin and causing discoloration? Because yeast is proliferating inside the body due to an underlying bacterial imbalance in the gut. Our bodies are innately intelligent, and when some nasty gram negative bacteria wants to overtake the surface area of our GI tract, yeast says “oh no you will not!” and begins to compete and take over. The bad news, you now have yeast issues in the form of TV, candida, yeast infections, nutrient malabsorption, etc. The good news, if the bacteria were to take over and get into your bloodstream you would become septic and have way bigger issues than some fun spots on your skin.

See also Gut Health 101

So what can you do?

We can address the root cause in a series of steps.

As you can see my TV was running rampant on my skin for several months, but now, it is non-existent.

Below are the steps I used to heal my TV naturally and help clients heal as well. After I ditched all the topicals and decided to once again trust my body to heal itself given I create the supportive environment for it to do so.

 How to Heal Your Tinea Versicolor Naturally FOR GOOD

(1) Tinea Versicolor home remedies

First intervention, examine the topicals you currently have. Tea tree oil mixed with coconut oil works to help slow the spread and contain the yeast while you work from the inside out to heal. Products like Selsun Blue do work to help kill the yeast topically and many see improvements right away. However, many also report dermatitis or skin irritation with application, to no surprise. Read the ingredients label and decide for yourself if you really want to be putting those into your body via the route of your skin daily. This also pertains to dermatologist prescribed medications such as anti-fungals or steroid creams! In my very own panic I did begin to use this product I will admit, I also experienced side effects with its use and do not recommend it for long term application!

(2) HEAL THE GUT

What are you eating? I could write a book on this bullet point alone but what you need to take away is this..your TV is your body expressing to you via an unwanted symptom that there is an imbalance (and oftentimes toxicity) within the body. Every time you eat you are either healing your body or feeding pathogens and toxicity. Your diet is everything. Your food is medicine. Not sure where to even start? Download my FREE HEALING GUIDE and begin to read through the blog posts below. Still unsure how to begin? Let’s set up a time to chat, my first 30 minutes is complimentary because I believe we should all have access to real healthcare.

See also: Gluten and Dairy Gossip, Fruit Fear, You’re Not Fat You’re Inflamed

To be honest, I did not change my diet during my TV healing phase. Why? Because I was already following a healing protocol conducive to healing TV, yes this includes fruit, not to be feared! What really helped me after I dialed in my diet were the latter of my recommendations.

Thank you Canva for the image, I actually have no clue who this gal is!

(3) SIBO repair - DIET for Tinea versicolor

his is part of healing your gut but in this step we get a little more specific. Taking out foods that feed non beneficial bacteria like gluten and dairy, while bringing in foods and herbal supplements that will aid in repair. Powerful gut healing food includes celery juice, raw onion & garlic, bananas, melons, leafy greens, & berries. Herbals include oregano, thyme, lemon balm, and nettle just to name a few! Everything you need to heal your gut can be food in your grocery store! 

 (4) Cortisol Management

When we’re stressed out and cortisol in running rampant through our bodies our immune system takes a big hit! Cortisol is like adding gasoline to our Tinea Versicolor fire. When  the immune system is weakened, the body is compromised to fight infections in the body. Furthermore, when cortisol is high, digestion slows and this stagnant environment is exactly what yeast and bacteria need to thrive! Reducing my stress levels was key in my healing. If I could do this in the midst of grad school, I know you can do it too. We’re ALL stressed out, we’re ALL busy, but guess what..only you can take charge of your health and get serious about what needs to change in your life. For me, this looked like giving less time away and letting the demands of other’s dictate my day. I began to schedule self care and show up for that appointment like I would any other client. I began to meditate more and visualize the healing taking place in my body. I slowed down on my work, I let myself sleep more, I backed off a bit on the intensity of my exercise, and viola, my body took care of the rest! 

(5) Not sweating is NOT the solution

Many clients come to me and say they have stopped their daily walks, hot yoga, sauna routines, and exercise because of their Tinea Versicolor. Many medical professionals will tell you not sweating will be your solution, I highly disagree. As summer days become more humid our sweating increases. This sweating also increases the circulation inside the body and is allowing for deep detox to occur. What is on the inside is going to come out on the outside! As the yeast that is TV comes out of your skin, it breaks through the skin and temporarily dismantles the melanocytes that give your skin color which in turn give you those annoying white annular spots or a full blown discoloration spread. If you stop sweating you may temporarily curb the speed of your TV growing, however, your body needs to sweat, to detox, to heal. Find an appropriate level of activity for your immune system, seriously change your diet, and begin to hone in on repairing your gut to experience true healing from TV!

Really work through these five steps. Journal out a plan that will serve your body. Examine each step and ask yourself, where can I serve my body better here.

As always, if you have questions please set up a time to chat!