A non-life-threatening skin disease, vitiligo is a condition where the loss of pigment leads to smooth white patches on the skin. It often appears on the hands, arms, face, and feet. Skin patches may start to appear rapidly at the onset of the disease but stop for long periods of time before they resume.
Who Gets Vitiligo? Anyone can get vitiligo, and it can develop at any age. However, for many people with vitiligo, the white patches begin to appear before age 20, and can start in early childhood.
Segmental vitiligo is unique, even beyond the fact that it doesn't cross the midline. It spreads very quickly, faster than the other forms, but only for about 6 months (sometimes up to a year).
Vitiligo usually starts with a few small white macules or patches that may gradually spread over your body.
Pre-vitiligo patches appear as pale yellow patches before they turn into white vitiligo patches. It is beneficial if one notices them and treats this problem at an early stage and not let it convert to vitiligo. Mostly they start affecting the areas like face, knees, elbows, back of the hand, etc.
Pityriasis versicolor can sometimes be confused with vitiligo, as they both cause the skin to become discoloured in patches. But there are ways to tell the difference: vitiligo often develops symmetrically (on both sides of your body at the same time), while pityriasis versicolor may not.
The most common type, non-segmental vitiligo, tends to spread slowly with new patches developing off and on throughout a person's life.
Vitiligo can cause minor changes or extensive changes in the skin. In some people, it may be hardly noticeable, while in others it is obvious. In dark-skinned people the vitiligo patches are obvious since they contrast with normal skin.
Treatment cannot cure vitiligo.
While researchers are looking for a cure, treatment cannot currently cure this disease. Treatment can help restore lost skin color, but the color (repigmentation) may fade over time. To keep their results, many patients have maintenance treatments.
What Are The Early Signs Of Vitiligo On Lips? In most cases, vitiligo on lips starts with small patches of discolored skin. Though these white patches can appear anywhere on your lips, it usually occurs on the lateral lower lip.
The risk of developing vitiligo in the general population is about 1%, or 1 in 100 people. That is really common. In comparison, the risk for juvenile diabetes is about 0.2%, or 1/500, and multiple sclerosis is 0.1%, or 1/1000.
Frequency. Vitiligo is a common disorder, affecting between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of the population worldwide. However, many cases may not be reported, and some researchers suggest the condition may affect up to 1.5 percent of the population.
Hypopigmented spots that are NOT vitiligo. If the spots are not truly white, but hypopigmented and not depigmented (they don't enhance by Wood's lamp), then they are NOT vitiligo and could be any number of different diseases and conditions.
Significant number of vitiligo patients have diverse psychological problems. Hormonal response to psychological stress such as cortisol has a role in the development of vitiligo.
The course of vitiligo varies and is unpredictable. Some areas may regain normal pigment (coloring), but other new areas of pigment loss may appear. Skin that is repigmented may be slightly lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. Pigment loss may get worse over time.
What causes vitiligo? Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. This type of disease develops when your immune system attacks part of your own body. If you have vitiligo, your immune system attacks cells in your body called melanocytes. These are cells that make pigment.
To the best of our knowledge, vitamin D significantly affects melanocytes and keratinocytes. Studies suggest that vitamin D3 increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro [12], which may lead to repigmentation in vitiligo skin lesions.
There is no "cure" for vitiligo. Sometimes patches go away on their own. But when that doesn't happen, doctors can prescribe treatments that might help even out skin tone.
It may take weeks to spread, or the patches may remain stable for months or even years together. The lighter patches become more visible in people with dark and sun-tanned skin. The destruction of pigment-causing cells called the melanocytes cause Vitiligo.
Vitiligo affects everyone differently. The condition usually begins with small white patches in a localized area. If the vitiligo progresses it can gradually spread across the body over time.
There is currently no known way to prevent or cure vitiligo. However, you can sometimes prevent your symptoms from getting worse or spreading. Some vitiligo prevention strategies—such as diet and taking vitamins—are focused on boosting the immune system.
Dermatologists use different tests to determine if you have vitiligo or another condition that produces similar symptoms. Some of these tests include blood tests and a skin biopsy.
There are no at-home tests available to diagnose vitiligo. However, you can do a general self-check of your skin and look for patchy or widespread loss of pigmentation (the coloring of your skin, hair, and eyes).
Vitiligo signs include: Patchy loss of skin color, which usually first appears on the hands, face, and areas around body openings and the genitals.