Catching Vitiligo Early

Vitiligo affects millions of people worldwide, but it rarely receives the same attention as other skin diseases. Although it doesn’t harm the health of those who suffer from it, it can cause a great amount of stress and embarrassment. The condition prevents areas of your skin from producing melanin, the pigment responsible for your skin color. This causes those affected areas to turn white. While there’s no complete cure for vitiligo, identifying and treating it early can greatly limit its effects.

If you notice that you are developing white patches of skin for no discernible cause, this could be a sign of vitiligo, and you should see your doctor immediately. Other, less common signs of the condition involve premature graying of the hair, loss of color in the lining of your mouth and changing eye color. The effects of the disease generally appear on the parts of your skin that see the most sunlight, but they can appear anywhere.

There are three patterns that the disease appears in: generalized, segmental and focal. Generalized vitiligo is the most common and describes widespread pigment loss over a number of different parts of your body. Segmental vitiligo, which is most often experienced by younger patients, only occurs on one side of your body. The last type is focal vitiligo, where only limited areas of your body are affected.

While there’s no cure, there are several treatment options available that can stop or slow the pigment loss and return color to the affected areas. Topical medicines, light treatment and surgery are some of the options for returning color to the skin. If your vitiligo is severe enough, depigmentation of the remaining unaffected skin is an option. This will allow someone with very little pigmented skin remaining to even out their skin color. If you are concerned that you are developing vitiligo, schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss treatment options.

If you need more serious help with skin issues or something else that is troubling your skin, we are here to help. Skin health is an important part of total body wellness. Schedule an appointment today with one of our board certified physicians to get your skin the care it needs so it can reach its fullest, healthiest potential.

Contact Knoxville Dermatology Group at 865.690.9467.