Q: I am suffering from Tinea versicolor from the past 15-16 years. The marks appear on my neck face chest and my upper back near my shoulders. I have tried everything from allopathy to homeopathy. The marks got diminished for a few days and after that they recurred. In allopathy, my doctor first gave me griseofulvin tablets and clotrimazole cream to apply. I used it for 3 years but the fungus did not go. I then went for homeopathy and for 2 years the fungus was in control but was never completely cured. Then finally I took zucon-150 tablet 3 times after a gap of 21 days each on the recommendation of a doctor. Currently I have no fungal growth on my body but I am scared whether it may reappear after sometime when the effect of the medicine fades away. Please help me.

A:The last medication you used was the correct one. Various regimens are used. The most common one is to take Fluconazole 400 mg only once. Almost all regimens give a very high cure rate, but not in 100% of cases. Hence there will be some cases who will relapse, as some fungal elements escape destruction and hence regrow. Therefore one has to be on the look out for any relapse and treat it at the earliest before it becomes extensive. To reduce this low possibility of relapse, some people advise follow up treatment with local medication. Eventually the disease will be eradicated. At the same time the person must adhere to good hygiene.