Vitiligo is a dermatological disorder that results in the loss of skin pigment. This disorder can affect any race at any age. It can be more noticeable in people with darker skin tones because of the contrast in lost pigmentation skin and pigmented skin. Most people experience onset between the age of 20 to 30.
Most people experience their first signs and symptoms on skin that is frequently exposed to the sun, such as their hands, arms, face, feet, and legs. The condition is not fatal and does not damage the sensation of touch. Aside from the loss of pigmentation, people with vitiligo have generally healthy skin.
It’s not entirely clear what causes the disorder, but doctors do believe their might be a link between vitiligo and thyroid disorders and autoimmune disorders. These disorders may put you at a higher risk for developing vitiligo.
1. Patchy Loss of Skin Color
The hallmark of this disorder is loss of skin pigmentation. You will start to notice small areas of patchy loss of skin color. Loss of pigmentation is very light in color, looking almost milky-white in nature. Darker skin may not lighten all the way to milky-white. Instead, it may appear more pink-white. This can develop anywhere, but most people first notice it on places frequently exposed to the sun. Many people first notice it on their, face, hands, arms, legs, and feet.
In most cases the loss of pigmentation with be symmetrical. This means that if you notice a patch of skin with lost pigmentation on your right hand, you will most likely have a similar patch of lost pigmentation on your left hand. There are some cases of vitiligo that are called segmental. This is when the loss of pigmentation only occurs on one side of the body.
2. Premature Whitening of Hair
This disorder can affect any part of your skin, including your scalp. You may not notice that your scalp has lightened until you start seeing patches of white hair. The locks that grows out of the patch of lightened skin is similarly affected and loses its pigmentation as well. This is because your skin and hair are given pigment by the same process. If your premature whitening of hair is caused by the disorder, you will be able to part the locks and see a lightened patch of skin on the scalp compared to the surrounding skin on the scalp.
3. Loss of Color in the Mouth Tissue
Loss of color in the mouth tissue can be frightening, especially if it is one of your first signs and symptoms of vitiligo. It can appear as a light-pink color to almost white. Aside from the loss of pigmentation, the disorder doesn’t affect the mouth in a negative way. It won’t cause you physical harm or physical distress. It can affect the lips and the inside of the mouth. If you suffer emotionally from the loss of pigmentation, your doctor will be able to walk you through possible treatments for restoring color. In some cases, it’s possible to halt the spread of pigmentation loss.
4. Change of Color in the Eyes
In some cases the disorder can affect your eyes. This results in the change of color in the eyes. It’s rare that the condition starts in the eyes, but if it does spread there then you’ll begin to lose pigmentation in the same manner as other areas of your body. This is more noticeable in darker eyes. It can happen slowly and lighten just one part of one eye before spreading to other areas of the eye. It can affect the whole eye at once, and lighten the pigmentation at once. It can affect one eye at a time or both eyes at once.
5. Change of Color in the Nose
It may take some time before you notice this symptom, but this condition can cause a chance of color in the nose. The membrane inside the nose are pigmented in the same manner as the rest of your skin, so the inside of your nose can be affected by vitiligo. The skin can turn a similar color as the rest of the affected skin, light-pink to almost a milk-while. The hair in your nose may also turn white is the skin inside is affected. It’s uncommon for the inside of your nose to be the first place affected by the condition.
6. Change of Color in the Ears
Ears generally receive a lot of direct sunlight. They are one of the first places that can be affected by the condition. The condition can cause a change of color in the ears. You’ll notice that there are patches of skin that are lighter in color than the surrounding skin. Like the other areas affected by vitiligo, the loss of pigmentation can leave the skin a pink-white or a milk-white. If you’re worried that you might be experiences vitiligo, you should set up an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will be able to diagnose the condition and offer treatment to possibly halt the process and restore color to the affected areas.
