Vitiligo is a skin disorder in which a loss of cells that give color to the skin called melanocytes results in white patches that appear in the middle of normally pigmented skin.
Vitiligo is a common skin disorder. This skin disorder is often inherited and is characterized by areas of well defined, milky white patches that appear on any part of the body due to loss of pigment. Vitiligo may arise due to many other autoimmune diseases like thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, and pernicious anemia.
Vitiligo affects about 1 person in 100 of the total world's population. This skin disorder mostly affects the area of the body that is easily exposed to sun and areas surrounding body openings, bony areas, fingers, and toes, but it can affect any area of the body. It is observed that it affects both genders and all races equally.
Vitiligo may start with one or two white patches or even over large portions of the body. This disease mostly starts before the age of 20 but it can begin at any age. Vitiligo is a disorder with complex causes and its causes are not fully discovered yet. Most of the people with this skin disorder have reported it as a genetic disorder and inheritance is believed to be one of its various precipitating causes. Some people with vitiligo also reported that their vitiligo first appeared following a severe traumatic or stressful event such as severe sun burn or serious illness. According to another theory vitiligo is believed to be related with other autoimmune diseases. Some environmental factors are also held responsible for triggering vitiligo.
The most common symptom of vitiligo is the loss of skin color in the form of patches. In most of the cases hair present at lesion also lose pigment and become faded or white. People with vitiligo may also have change in pigment of the retina or areas of the eyes.
The diagnosis of vitiligo is not difficult and is usually made by observation. In some cases for vitiligo diagnosis, physicians use a special kind lamp known as Wood’s Lamp and in a fewer cases a skin biopsy may also be required but that is not common. After these tests the presence of vitiligo is confirmed if the symptoms that are present, match the symptoms of vitiligo.
No complete cure for vitiligo is available but its cosmetic abnormalities can be managed. Most of the cosmetics that are available can be used to improve the appearance of the white areas not covered by clothing. One way to improve the appearance is using sunscreens as they prevent the normal skin around the patches from becoming darker, this prevent vitiligo from becoming more noticeable. Some camouflaging creams are also available that can help in disguising vitiligo. These creams make the skin color uniform and thus helps in hiding vitiligo.
