Vitiligo is a chronic condition that affects the skin's pigmentation. Because vitiligo affects physical appearance, living with the condition might be difficult and affect emotional well-being.
What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a lifelong condition through which patches of skin lose color as a result of the destruction of melanocytes, the cells answerable for producing melanin. Melanin is the pigment that provides skin its color. Vitiligo can appear on any a part of the body and affects people of any age, race or gender.
Fast facts about vitiligo:
- About 30% of individuals with vitiligo have a family history.
- It occurs in about 1% to 2% of the population.
- About half of individuals with vitiligo develop symptoms before the age of 20.
- In one in five to 10 individuals with vitiligo, some or all the pigment eventually returns, causing the white patches to vanish.
What causes vitiligo?
Vitiligo is considered an autoimmune disorder through which the immune system mistakenly targets and destroys its own cells. In the case of vitiligo, the immune system targets an individual's melanocytes, the cells that produce skin pigment. In addition, melanocytes in an individual with vitiligo have a reduced ability to handle the imbalance between antioxidants and harmful free radicals within the body. In each cases, melanocytes are damaged and destroyed, leading to patches of skin that lose color or pigment.
Although most individuals with vitiligo are otherwise in good health, there may be an association between vitiligo and thyroid disorders, comparable to hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.
What does vitiligo appear like?
In vitiligo, patches of skin lose their pigment, leading to areas that appear milky white or lighter than the encompassing skin. The edges of the patch may appear smooth or irregular and appear red or brown in color.
Vitiligo can appear anywhere on an individual's skin. The most affected areas are:
- Fingers and wrists
- In the armpits
- Waist and genitalia
- Around the mouth and eyes
- contained in the mouth.
Vitiligo may cause pigmentation within the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard and body hair.
Vitiligo might be especially noticeable on dark skin due to difference between the affected and unaffected areas. In individuals with fair skin, the shortage of pigmentation is commonly more pronounced in the summertime, when there may be a dullness across the skin while the vitiligo spots are usually not present.
Types of vitiligo
There are two principal varieties of vitiligo: nonsegmental and segmental.
Nonsegmental vitiligo is essentially the most common type, affecting 90% of individuals with vitiligo. This type develops slowly, with latest spots appearing periodically on either side of the body, often in parallel, comparable to on each knees or hands.
Segmental vitiligo is less common but more common in children. This type is more localized, causing rapid lack of pigment on one side or a part of the body. Segmental vitiligo normally stabilizes inside six to 12 months, after which no latest patches form.
In rare cases, vitiligo can spread to cover the whole body, a condition often called universal vitiligo.
Diagnosis of vitiligo
To diagnose vitiligo, your doctor will review your medical history and perform an intensive skin examination. In some cases, an ultraviolet light called a Wood's lamp is used to spotlight areas of depigmentation, which appear chalky and vivid under the lamp.
Your doctor may do other tests comparable to:
- Blood tests to envision for other autoimmune diseases
- An eye exam to detect uveitis, the inflammation of the attention related to vitiligo.
A skin biopsy, through which a small sample of skin is examined in a laboratory, is never mandatory. This might help confirm the diagnosis if skin changes suggest other conditions.
Treatment options
Although there isn't a cure for vitiligo, there are treatments to assist slow the progression of the disease, restore skin color, and stop latest spots. For most individuals, if vitiligo shouldn't be treated, the white patches of skin will remain and turn out to be larger.
Your doctor's recommendations for treatment will rely upon your needs, overall health, and the form of vitiligo.
Conditional medications Topical treatments include topical steroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors (comparable to tacrolimus or pimecrolimus), and topical vitamin D analogs (comparable to calciputerin). These prescription medications are applied on to the skin.
Ruxolitinib (Opzelura) is a latest drug. Approved by the FDA 2022 to revive lost skin color to individuals with vitiligo. This cream is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that's really useful for people 12 years of age and older primarily to treat small areas of vitiligo. Clinical trials have shown that ruxolitinib cream can effectively regrow the skin, with results lasting as much as two years.
Light therapy. This treatment exposes the skin to ultraviolet light, encouraging regrowth. Ultraviolet light might be delivered through a hand-held light box for small areas of skin, or delivered in a closet-sized light box if a big area of ​​skin is involved. Treatment needs to be repeated steadily, normally thrice every week for at the very least six months.
Depigmentation. This approach, which involves lightening the unaffected skin to match the depigmented areas, is used only in individuals with severe vitiligo. This treatment is never used since the pigmentation is everlasting and the skin without pigment is susceptible to sun damage.
Surgery. Surgical options comparable to skin grafts or melanocyte transplants could also be explored in severe cases or those who don't reply to other treatments. Surgery shouldn't be suitable for everybody, especially those that suffer from scarring.
Protecting and caring in your skin if you have got vitiligo
If you have got vitiligo, protecting your skin from the sun is critical to managing the condition. Skin affected by vitiligo is more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer.
To protect your skin, stay out of the sun, wear sun protective clothing, and apply sunscreen day by day to all exposed skin. Avoid tanning beds and sun lamps, as they will worsen vitiligo.
Also, skin injuries comparable to cuts, scrapes, and burns could cause latest spots or patches of vitiligo, so it's best to take care to guard your skin.
Living with Vitiligo
Some individuals with vitiligo embrace their natural skin. Others is probably not comfortable with their appearance and should use makeup, self-tanner, or skin color to cover light patches. Vitiligo can affect quality of life, causing stress, depression and low self-esteem.
If vitiligo is affecting your mental health, seek psychological help and counseling. A mental health skilled can provide helpful support for coping with difficult feelings and overcoming depression. Connecting with others by joining a will also be helpful. Vitiligo Support Group or getting emotional support from family and friends.