Vitiligo
Overview
Vitiligo is a long-term condition where pale white patches develop on the skin. It's caused by the lack of melanin, which is the pigment in skin.
Symptoms
The areas of skin most commonly affected by vitiligo include: mouth and eyesfingers and wristsarmpitsgroingenitalsinside your mouth It can also sometimes develop where there are hair roots, such as on your scalp. The lack of melanin in your skin can turn the hair in the affected area white or grey. 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. They're sometimes red and inflamed, or there's brownish discolouration (hyperpigmentation). Vitiligo does not cause discomfort to your skin, such as dryness, but the patches may occasionally be itchy. The condition varies from person to person. Some people only get a few small, white patches, but others get bigger white patches that join up across large areas of their skin. There's no way of predicting how much skin will be affected. The white patches are usually permanent.
Causes
Vitiligo is caused by the lack of a pigment called melanin in the skin. Melanin is produced by skin cells called melanocytes, and it gives your skin its colour. In vitiligo, there are not enough working melanocytes to produce enough melanin in your skin. This causes white patches to develop on your skin or hair. You may be at increased risk of developing non-segmental vitiligo if: other members of your family have itthere's a family history of other autoimmune conditions – for example, if one of your parents has pernicious anaemia (an autoimmune condition that affects the stomach)you have another autoimmune conditionyou havemelanoma(a type of skin cancer) ornon-Hodgkin lymphoma(cancer of the lymphatic system)you have particular changes in your genes that are known to be linked to non-segmental vitiligo