Strange skin on "Survivor"

Castaway Aras spreads the love with a massage.	Yet will he also spread...	...the infection causing this rash?

The 2006 season of "Survivor" has a new twist: every few days a contestant is sent to weather the dreaded Exile Island. With his splotchy trunk and shoulders, it is a wonder that Aras Baskauskas isn't banished by his team mates immediately. Not to worry: his blotchy, scaly rash is not contagious. "Tinea versicolor" (TV), is a common affliction of the young, sweaty, and sun exposed. It is caused by an overgrowth of a common skin yeast, spurred by excessive perspiration. The organism then causes pigment cells to create more, or (in this case) less color, hence the term versicolor. The yeast can be temporarily exiled with the topical application of certain dandruff shampoos, anti-yeast creams, or even anti-fungal pills. Unfortunately for our reality show star, the skin then takes a few months to regain an even tone. Then, like omnipresent host Jeff Probst, the condition can return. Sometimes it seems that this "TV" is as tenacious as the "Survivor" series has become on your TV!

For more skin conditions from "Survivor," try the skinema.com collection...

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