Vitiligo Demystified: Symptoms, Causes, Types, Risk Factors & Treatment

Dr.Meenu Malik, 3 mins read

Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune skin disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, yet it remains widely misunderstood. Some think it’s a contagious disease. And some believe it’s life-threatening.

But the real fact is that it is neither contagious nor life-threatening. Characterised by white patches on the skin, vitiligo can have significant psychological and social impacts on the affected person.

In this blog, we’re going to discuss the symptoms, causes, types, and risk factors associated with vitiligo. So, let’s start!

Symptoms:
Vitiligo can develop at any age. But it usually appears before age 30. The primary symptom of vitiligo is the presence of white patches on the skin. These patches may be small and localised or spread across the body over time.

The patches often start from the hands, face and areas around body openings and genitals. The patches are usually more noticeable in individuals with darker skin tones. But they can occur in people of any ethnicity.

Some patients complain of premature whitening or greying of the hair of the scalp, beard and eyelashes. Loss of the colour of the tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose is also a sign of vitiligo.

Types:
There are several types of vitiligo, each characterised by the pattern and extent of depigmentation:

• Universal vitiligo: The discolouration affects nearly all skin surfaces.
• Generalised vitiligo: It is the most common type that causes discoloured patches and often affects most skin surfaces and progresses similarly on the corresponding body parts (symmetrically).
• Segmental vitiligo: This type generally occurs at a younger age, progresses gradually for one to two years and then stops. It causes one side or part of the body.
• Localised/focal vitiligo: In this type, the vitiligo generally occurs on one or only a few parts of the body.
• Acrofacial vitiligo: This type usually affects the face and hands.

Causes:
The colour of our skin and hair is determined by the melanin. Melanin is a natural skin pigment produced by melanocytes.

Vitiligo occurs when melanocytes die or stop producing melanin. This can happen due to:

• A family history of vitiligo
• An autoimmune condition
• A trigger event like stress, sunburn or skin contact with the chemical

Risk factors:
Vitiligo can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. But certain factors increase the risk of developing this condition:

• Family history
• Autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disorders or type 1 diabetes
• Environmental factors like exposure to certain chemicals and sunburn
• Stressful events or emotional trauma

Treatment:

• Medications: There is no specific medicine for vitiligo. However, certain medicines can help slow down the pigmentation loss and help melanocytes regrow for melanin production.
• Light therapy: Light therapy or phototherapy is the treatment to return the skin colour. The treatment uses lightboxes, ultraviolet B (UVB) or medical-grade lasers. A person may need more than one session of this treatment. Sometimes light therapy is combined with a plant-based derivative called psoralen for vitiligo on the scalp, trunk, neck, upper arms or legs.
• Depigmentation treatment: This is done to match the colour of your skin to the skin affected with the vitiligo.
• Surgery: The surgical treatment includes skin grafts, blister grating and cellular suspension transplant. In skin grafts, a skin graft is taken from another part of the body to cover the affected area. The blister graft involves creating a blister on the skin using suction and then attaching the top of the blister to the affected skin. In the cellular suspension transplant, the doctors take the tissues of the affected skin, put them in a solution and then transplant them back.
• Counselling: Sometimes patients need a consultation with a mental health professional to improve self-esteem, and cope with depression and anxiety.
• Self-care: The first thing is to protect your skin from sun exposure or artificial sources of UV light. Always apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 whenever you go outside. Discuss with your doctor whether you can use makeup products to conceal affected skin. Also, it’s advised not to get a tattoo. Or if you want, discuss it with your doctor first.