Vitiligo is a condition in which the pigment-producing cells of a person’s skin (melanocytes) die or stop functioning. This can result in discolored patches in different areas of the body, including the skin, hair and mucous membranes.
Vitiligo is caused by the lack of a pigment called melanin in the skin. Melanin is produced by skin cells called melanocytes, and it gives your skin its colour. In other words, Vitiligo occurs when there are not enough working melanocytes to produce enough melanin in your skin. This causes white patches to develop on your skin or hair.
Usually, the loss of skin colour can affect any part of the body, including the mouth, hair, hands, back, arms, chest and eyes; and this may be more noticeable in people with darker skin.
People may experience common symptoms which may include hypopigmentation or premature hair whitening. 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 may be mistaken to be eczema. However, it is important to note that Eczema is mostly associated with itches and rashes on the skin whereas Vitiligo only results in loss of skin colour.
It is therefore always advisable to consult your local medical authority for advice.
There is no cure for Vitiligo. The goal of medical treatment is to create a uniform skin tone by either restoring skin color, i.e. repigmentation or eliminating the remaining color a process termed as depigmentation. Treatment may improve the appearance of the skin but doesn’t cure the disease.
Usually, treatment works better if it started at an early stage (perhaps before 2 or 3 months after starting). If the white spots are developing slowly then we can treat them very fast than other cases. Common treatments include camouflage therapy, repigmentation therapy, light therapy and surgery
