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Nov 10, 2022 · The choice of treatment depends on your age, how much skin is involved and where, how quickly the disease is progressing, and how it's affecting your life. Medications and light-based therapies are available to help restore skin color or even out skin tone, though results vary and are unpredictable. And some treatments have serious side effects.
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Vitiligo is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disorder that causes areas of skin to lose color. When skin cells that make color are attacked and destroyed, the skin turns a milky-white color. A person with vitiligo sometimes may have family members who also have the disease.
White spots and patches develop for many reasons. You might have vitiligo. You could also have another condition like tinea versicolor. The white spots may also be caused by a skin injury. A board-certified dermatologist can give you an accurate diagnosis. How do dermatologists diagnose vitiligo?
Patches turn white. When vitiligo is actively destroying cells that give a person’s skin its color, the patches tend to be pink or tricolor (causing a zone of tan skin between a person’s natural skin color and the white vitiligo). Once vitiligo is no longer active, the patches turn completely white, as shown here.
Feb 1, 2024 · Vitiligo occurs when pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) die or stop producing melanin — the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes color. The involved patches of skin become lighter or white. It's unclear exactly what causes these pigment cells to fail or die. It may be related to: A disorder of the immune system (autoimmune condition)
Apr 26, 2022 · 10 min read. What Is Vitiligo? Vitiligo is a long-lasting condition that causes a loss of color in patches on the skin. It happens when the body's immune system mistakenly...
Mar 12, 2024 · What are the symptoms of vitiligo? The most common symptom of vitiligo is light or depigmented spots on the skin. Other vitiligo symptoms include: hair turning gray or white prematurely,...
