hyperpigmentation / possibly even scarring?

[Cartesia]

OK so long stupid story short..
my addiction is a thing of the past, but I'm still dealing with the effects of all the stupid shit that I did to myself/didnt look after properly.

For a long period while I was addicted to painkillers I had untreated jock itch.. and you know.. that + opiates = itchytown.

it's treated and gone now, but I have what I'm pretty sure is hyperpigmentation on patches of skin from it (inner thighs). I'm hoping it's not scarring.. It doesn't look like the usual kinda scartissue. I think there is a little scarring, like just a couple little spots.. as I can see a few small scar-tissue blotches amongst the big brown patches of what looks otherwise like normal skin. If that's all though, that wont bother me. So hopefully the rest is hyperpigmentation.

So from what I understand hyperpigmentation will slowly fade out over months... I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do to speed it up/help it fade more effectively/etc? It's really embarassing to me in terms of having sex/being naked around others. Even though it's just darker coloured skin, it looks nasty and I dont want people freaking out thinking its some contagion or something. So far I've just avoided naked situations, but I'm getting frustrated.. Since getting clean I've lost alot of weight, I'm really happy with my body image for the first time in my life except for this one problem, and I want to be able to show off my body, be sexually active, etc.

Any help/ideas/etc?

 

[Maya]

I know some natural remedies that might be effective for Hyperpigmentation:

Vegetables Juice: you can extract the juices of cucumber, potato and tomato and apply it on your skin to lighten the pigmentation and you can apply this all over your skin.

Milk and Honey - this is probably the safest and the most effective remedy of all and you can apply this by mixing them together and making a paste and applying it to the skin area.

Vitamin E - commonly known as the skin vitamin that we all need to have a healthy skin. You can use a vitamin oil or get capsules and squeeze the vitamin capsule and apply it to the skin area

Almonds and Avocado - you can soak the almonds overnight and make a paste mixed with milk and apply it to the affected area sme with avocado.

You can also try a product called "Bio Oil" which can help uneven skin tone. This is actually what I use for some of my stretch marks and it has helped a lot. It took about a good month to see the results.

 

[Foreigner]

So the skin is darker in those patches, not lighter? It's usually hypopigmentation that follows jock itch, not the other way around.

Anyway... the pigment should return to normal with time, unless it looks white (hypo). If hypo then sometimes that's an autoimmune condition that develops after a fungal infection, where the body neutralizes its own melanocytes.

I've read that bergamot oil can help restore skin tone but I have no experince with it, nor have I heard any anecdotes from my health circle.

 

[Serotonin101]

For the hypo I know its noticeable when people tan (I have a white spot that doesnt tan on my back) but sopposedly selsun blue shampoo amd certain anti fungal creams can rid the hypo pigmentation spot and allow it to color? I have just started the selsun "treatment" in an attempt to "fix" it.

 

[Foreigner]

^ Let us know if that works. AFAIK those methods are used to kill the tinea fungus but they do not restore pigmentation that has been destroyed by the infection. In other words, once the infection is gone, if there are white spots that don't fade with time, then they are likely to stay. Because the infection goes to the pigment layer, some people develop an autoimmune condition called tinea versicolor where their own body begins attacking the pigment layer everywhere else and they develop those white spots in random areas not related to the original infection site.

However, the OP is it talking about hyperpigmentation, not hypo.

 

[Cartesia]

yeah... it's darker, not lighter..

It does seem to be fading, verrrrry slowly. I'm wondering if like skin peeling treatments would help? I don't really understand the mechanics behind it all though, should do some reading.

Should probably just go to the doctor, but I don't really want to explain *how* it came to be.. I mean, not that I have an issue talking about drug use with the doctor, just that it's kinda embarassing. I suppose I shall just wait and see what happens for another month or so..

Thanks for the suggestions, I will give some of those a shot

 

[Foreigner]

The darker ones fade with time. It's more common to get normal skin tone back with those than the hypo ones.

I doubt skin peels will do anything because you're dealing with the melanocyte layer which is deep; and if the peel damages the melanocytes you will get the opposite problem of no pigmentation.

The safest bet is to wait for it to fade, unless you feel there is a big cosmetic concern.

 

[Cartesia]

it's OK, I'd rather wait than risk anything else.... besides, I still have things i need to sort out with myself before I go chasing others I think...

 

[Joeof1]

I have something similar from climbing gear. They go away after a while of not being exposed to that sort of stress that causes them.

 

[Cartesia]

Thanks. Yeah it seems to very slowly be fading, im not sure itll ever be gon though.. i imagine even coverag of microscopic scarring could appear this way ehhh... thought i got out without any permanent problems... guess it could be worse, my liver & kidneys are ok thank god.

 

[Zapheto]

I'm facing with the exact same problem. And as for drugs, yeah. Can you tell me if the hyperpigmentation faded away or not? Or if you took any medications can you tell me please? Thank you.

 

[Moreaux]

It's possible for some hyper pigmentation to fade over time. It's best to not expose the area to sunlight, and if it will be exposed to use good sunscreen. Hydroquinone 4% cream can help fade it, when combined with Retin A can help fade it quicker. There are also some chemical peels that will help. Some laser treatments such as IPL also work well to fade it. There are some more natural remedies but hey take significantly longer to work and are not nearly as effective as the aforementioned items.

 

[ricardomrtn]

I was having dark spots during my pregnancy and it was really the worst experience for me. I tried some home skin remedies and it helps me a lot, but dark spots not gone properly. I researched on the internet and found a dark spot removal cream "Cysteamine" manufactured by scientispharma.ch I used it for 2 weeks and all my spots were gone. It's really helpful if anyone having the same problem.