Vitiligo often starts as a pale patch of skin that gradually turns completely white. The centre of a patch may be white, with paler skin around it. If there are blood vessels under the skin, the patch may be slightly pink, rather than white. The edges of the patch may be smooth or irregular.
A visual examination by a healthcare provider usually leads to an accurate diagnosis of vitiligo. Your provider may use a Wood's lamp to look at your skin. This lamp uses an ultraviolet (UV) light that shines onto your skin to help your provider differentiate vitiligo from other skin conditions.
To diagnose vitiligo, your doctor will ask about your family history and perform a thorough physical exam. The exam may include a close evaluation of your skin. Sometimes doctors use a Wood's lamp, also known as a black light, which is an ultraviolet light that the doctor shines on your skin.
The main symptom of vitiligo is loss of natural color or pigment, called depigmentation. The depigmented patches can appear anywhere on your body and can affect: Skin, which develops milky-white patches, often on the hands, feet, arms, and face. However, the patches can appear anywhere.
The first appearance of vitiligo is through small white skin patches that usually appear on the hands, arms, face, or feet although they may appear anywhere on the body.
People can develop vitiligo at any age, but approximately one-half of cases are diagnosed either in childhood or before someone turns 20. The first signs of vitiligo are white patches on the skin, which can develop anywhere on the body, including on the face, arms, hands, genitals, and buttocks.
First, it is important to perform a self-check skin exam at home to look for any unusual signs or symptoms. There are no home tests that can test for vitiligo, but you can check if you have depigmented areas. It is possible for vitiligo to lead to hearing loss. This is because the inner ear contains melanocytes.
Inheriting certain genes may increase the risk of something triggering (causing it to happen) vitiligo. Known vitiligo triggers include: A severe sunburn. Injured skin (cut, scrape, burn) Getting a strong chemical like phenol on your skin.
Thermal burns, inflammatory skin disorders like psoriasis, or bacterial infections like leprosy may cause a reversible loss of skin color. Genetically determined diseases like piebaldism can also create distinctive patterns of milky white skin and hair, which can be mistaken for vitiligo.
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.
Light therapy exposes your skin to a type of ultraviolet (UV) light that can restore your natural skin color. If a large area of your body needs treatment, your dermatologist may prescribe a type of light therapy called phototherapy. During phototherapy, you expose your skin to UV light for a specific amount of time.
Vitiligo may occur in the same areas on both sides of the face -- symmetrically -- or it may be patchy -- asymmetrical. The typical vitiligo lesion is flat and depigmented, but maintains the normal skin texture. The dark areas around the eyes are this person's normal skin color.
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.
Vitiligo is a common skin disease characterized by the presence of well circumscribed, depigmented milky white macules devoid of identifiable melanocytes. On the other hand, hypopigmented mycosis fungoides (MF) is a rare variant of MF which presents clinically as persistent hypopigmented macules and patches.
About 15 to 25 percent of people with vitiligo are also affected by at least one other autoimmune disorder, particularly autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis , pernicious anemia, Addison disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis ...
Another condition that rarely causes a true white spot is nevus depigmentosus, which is a birthmark that usually appears within the first few months of life, has jagged edges, usually doesn't turn the hair white, and doesn't grow in size like vitiligo – it may get larger as the child grows and the skin stretches, but ...
Vitiligo causes are unknown but hereditary is the top most contributing factor. A person having the tendency to develop vitiligo can suffer from this disorder when any of the following triggering factors come into action like emotional stress, anxiety or fear.
Topical steroids come as a cream or ointment you apply to your skin. They can sometimes stop the spread of the white patches and may restore some of your original skin colour. A topical steroid may be prescribed to adults if: you have non-segmental vitiligo on less than 10% of your body.
Vitiligo usually begins with a few small lighter patches that develop on the skin. These patches may stay the same size for years or grow larger. New patches can appear on the skin. The new patches may be close to existing patches or far from them.
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 is not contagious
It cannot be transmitted via touch, saliva, blood, inhalation, sexual intercourse or by sharing of personal items like water bottle, bath towels, swimming pool, etc. Some people also believe that they can get Vitiligo by patting dogs with white spots on their head!
If vitiligo is not treated, it may spread extensively to involve various skin areas. Rarely, some patches may go away or decrease in size. Although vitiligo is neither dangerous nor causes symptoms, such as pain or itch, the sufferers may be upset and stressed because of the way their skin appears.
Vitiligo manifest as depigmented macules or patches with a convex border without signs of inflammation with normal skin around. Macules are milky-white in color, well-demarcated with either round, oval, or linear in shape. Ranges in size from a few millimeters to a few centimeters.
A deficiency in vitamin B-12 can present itself as white spots or patches on your skin.