How can you tell the difference between white spots and vitiligo?

The patches can be large or small and appear as one of the following patterns: Segmental or focal: White patches tend to be smaller and appear in one or a few areas. When vitiligo appears in a focal or segmental pattern, it tends to stay in one area one side of the body.

How do you know if you’re developing vitiligo?

Vitiligo signs include: Patchy loss of skin color, which usually first appears on the hands, face, and areas around body openings and the genitals. Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard.

What does developing vitiligo look like?

Vitiligo often starts as a pale patch of skin that gradually turns completely white. The centre of a patch may be white, with paler skin around it. If there are blood vessels under the skin, the patch may be slightly pink, rather than white. The edges of the patch may be smooth or irregular.

How can I test for vitiligo at home?

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).

How can I detect vitiligo at home?

How small does vitiligo start?

Vitiligo (vit-il-EYE-go) is a skin disorder that causes the skin to lose its color. Smooth white areas (called macules if less than 5mm or patches if 5mm or larger) appear on a person’s skin.

Can white people have vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a skin disorder that causes lighter patches to develop on a person’s skin. Vitiligo can affect people of all racial backgrounds. However, vitiligo may be more noticeable on people with darker skin. Vitiligo happens as a result of a loss of pigmentation within a person’s skin.

Is every white spot vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a skin disorder in which smooth white areas (called macules or patches) appear on a person’s skin. It generally starts on the hands, forearms, feet and face. Globally, about 1\% or so of the population has vitiligo.

Why do people with vitiligo have white spots on their skin?

Any location on the body can be affected, and most people with vitiligo have white patches on many areas. The skin doesn’t have its characteristic color because it has lost its melanin. For some reason, the pigment-forming cells known as melanocytes have been destroyed.

What does it feel like to live with vitiligo?

They feel completely healthy. A few people say that the skin affected by vitiligo itches or feels painful. Living with vitiligo can cause other symptoms, such as low self-esteem and depression that is hard to beat. This can happen regardless of the amount of color loss or type of vitiligo. It is common to have vitiligo on the hands.

Is the loss of color resulting from vitiligo symmetrical?

The loss of color resulting from vitiligo is sometimes symmetrical. Vitiligo is a condition in which the skin loses its pigment cells (melanocytes). This can result in discolored patches in different areas of the body, including the skin, hair and mucous membranes. Vitiligo (vit-ih-LIE-go) is a disease that causes loss of skin color in patches.

Do vitiligo patches get bigger over time?

You’ll often lose pigment quickly on several areas of your skin. After the white patches appear, they may stay the same for a while, but later on, they might get bigger. You may have cycles of pigment loss and stability. Vitiligo commonly affects: