- Dermatology Unit, Conditions
Vitiligo
What is
What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a skin pigmentation disorder of unknown cause, which results in white areas of the skin.
The cause is unknown, although it is considered to be an autoimmune disease, i.e. a disease in which the body’s own immune system is altered and acts against the skin cells responsible for producing the pigment. This would occur in people with a genetic predisposition, producing the white spots on the skin.
Information
How it manifests itself
- The patient with vitiligo may have one or more white patches on the skin, usually distributed symmetrically on both sides of the body.
- The most frequently affected sites are the face, in the areas around the mouth, nose and eyes, the hands and the surface of the joints as these are areas of friction.
- Vitiligo has a tendency to appear on areas of the skin where there has been a previous injury, so it can appear on scars, recent or old, and on areas of the body exposed to trauma.
Who is affected
It is a rare disease that affects approximately 1% of the population, and there are no differences between races, countries or sexes. It is known that it tends to appear in people who have a history of a family member with the disease.
It can affect any age, including children, and its peak incidence is around 20 years of age.
How to treat
Vitiligo is a disease that mainly causes aesthetic problems, so the decision to treat it or not lies with the patient.
The success of the treatment is variable, and depends on the extent of the lesions and the site where they have appeared. First of all, it is important to protect these areas of skin from the sun, as they lack the natural protection that pigment would confer.
Treatments
1. In terms of treatment, topical corticosteroid courses combined with calcineurin inhibitor creams can be used as maintenance treatment. If the lesions are very extensive it is possible to use oral corticosteroids.
2. An alternative that has also demonstrated its efficacy is phototherapy, although its disadvantages are that the patient must travel to a hospital center for sessions at least twice a week.
3. In some cases a kellin cream is also applied, which is a product that increases the skin’s sensitivity to the sun, and then short exposures to sunlight are made, with the intention of stimulating the production of pigment.
4. Also, as a last option, in cases where most of the body surface is affected, an alternative is to try to depigment the areas that maintain the pigment, in order to even out the skin tone. This can be done with depigmenting creams or with the help of laser.
FAQs
Can anyone have vitiligo?
It is a rare disease that affects approximately 1% of the population, and there are no differences between races, countries or sexes. It is known that it tends to appear in people who have a history of a family member with the disease.
It can affect any age, including children, and its peak incidence is around 20 years of age.