Discovered brown patches on my body after vacation in sun which appear similar to melasma. What is this skin condition? (Photos)

Thank you for the question. What you have is phytophotodermatitis a condition that happens when you come into contact with certain fruits or vegetables, such as limes, lemons, parsley, celery, and are in sunlight. A reaction occurs on the skin that results in these dark patches. Were you drinking margaritas or Corona with lime? The good news is phytophotodermatitis is not dangerous and the dark areas will resolve with time. If you would like to try to speed the resolution of the patches you could try hydroquinone. I hope this was helpful!

Now this is a great question as I now have to think back well over a decade ago since the Board exams. Given the streaky nature, I think it could be a UV induced phytophytodermatitis, the most common is lime. Light reacts with chemicals in certain fruits that contains psoralen like compounds, and can cause pigmentation. Perhaps a medical dermatologist can shed more information on this matter?Dr Davin Lim, Laser and aesthetic dermatologist. Brisbane. Australia.