How does Vitiligo Spread?

In the initial stage, some small patches of white skin develop. There is a contrast between Normal skin and the affected Vitiligo skin. All races are equally affected by Vitiligo, but people with dark skin tone get more affected by it and the patches are more noticeable. Where as in people with fair skin tone, the patches are noticeable when the skin tans.

The acuteness and course of vitiligo depends on different patients and their skin type. In some patients, the patches are developed slowly and don’t spread further. In some cases, the patches spread quickly and remain static for some time. It is more common for the patches to slowly become larger and more patches can be noticed on different areas of the body. The development of the patches cannot be anticipated. Usually, the white patches are permanent. There is also a probability of the patches to pigment and recoup their colour.

Large areas of skin are affected!! 

 

Any part of the body can get affected. The most common areas are - neck, wrists, scalp, face and hands. Other common parts are genitals and nipples. Some parts like groins or armpits are affected as well. Old cuts or burns can be affected by Vitiligo. The white patches could be symmetrical and can appear on similar spots on legs and arms.

If the scalp gets affected then the hair is affected too. This results in making the colour of the hair turn white or grey. There are often symptoms where the colour of the eyelashes changes.

Vitiligo can also affect the whole body of the patient which is normally a rare case. If the whole body gets affected then it is called complete Vitiligo or universal Vitiligo.