What is vitiligo? Symptoms, causes, treatment

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder that involves the skin losing their pigment. The affected patches of skin are sometimes small and other times affect large parts of the body. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to win with vitiligo, it is a defect that can even lead to psychological discomfort.

Vitiligo – causes and types

This skin disease involves depigmentation, the consequence of which is the death of melanocytes – the cells responsible for the production of melanin. As a result, white irregular patches appear on the body, which may appear both on hairy and hairless skin. The causes of vitiligo are not fully known. In fact, there are two types of it: innate and acquired. The first one is genetically conditioned, occurs at birth and is incurable. The second type, on the other hand, may be or not genetically determined. It is associated with environmental, autoimmune disorders as well as nervous system or oxidative stress.

Causes of vitiligo:

• segmental – it can apply to the entire body area. The patches appear uncontrollably on the right ot left side of the body. Over time, new patches appear, usually on large areas of skin. Treatment requires cell transplantation;
• non-segmental – we distinguish: generalized vitiligo (tends to progress intermittently and is remarkably symmetrical in distribution), focal (a few patches appear on the body) and depigmentation of oral mucous membrane;
• innate and generalized – results from skin pigmentation disorder, which leads to reduction or discontinuation of melanin production.

Vitiligo – symptoms & treatment

The main symptom of vitiligo are white, irregular patches on the body. At the beginning, they are small, but over time they become larger and change their shape. They appear on the face, hands, cleavage and other parts of the body. The treatment involves:

• therapy with the vitamin D3-derivative;
• phototherapy;
• melanocytes transplantation;
• camouflage makeup;
• homemade methods: herbal infusions, royal jelly and chickpeas.