It's possible that vitiligo may be triggered by particular events, such as: stressful events, such as childbirth. skin damage, such as severe sunburn or cuts (this is known as the Koebner response)
Vitiligo occurs when pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) die or stop producing melanin — the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes color. The involved patches of skin become lighter or white. It's unclear exactly what causes these pigment cells to fail or die.
Vitiligo can be triggered by stress to the melanin pigment-producing cells of the skin, the melanocytes.
In conclusion, the findings from this study indicate that vitiligo patients have high levels of perceived stress. In patients predisposed to vitiligo, metabolic and psychological stress might influence the onset and progression of vitiligo.
A non-life-threatening skin disease, vitiligo is a condition where the loss of pigment leads to smooth white patches on the skin. It often appears on the hands, arms, face, and feet. Skin patches may start to appear rapidly at the onset of the disease but stop for long periods of time before they resume.
“Patients with sleep disorders may suffer the potential risk for vitiligo. Therefore, a bidirectional relationship exists between vitiligo and sleep disorders.”
The first signs of vitiligo are white patches on the skin, which can develop anywhere on the body, including on the face, arms, hands, genitals, and buttocks.
Anyone can get vitiligo, and it can develop at any age. However, for many people with vitiligo, the white patches begin to appear before age 20, and can start in early childhood.
In summary, these observations make it pretty clear that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that is initiated by melanocyte stress, which can be worsened by exposure to chemicals.
Vitiligo is caused by partial or complete destruction of melanocytes in the affected skin area and influences the patient's quality of life. Besides physical involvement, vitiligo patients experience a high level of stress. Depression and Anxiety are common psychiatric disorders in vitiligo patients.
Studies suggest that vitamin D3 increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro [12], which may lead to repigmentation in vitiligo skin lesions. Calcipotriol and tacalcitol, which are vitamin D analogs, are also known to induce repigmentation in patients with vitiligo [13,14].
There are certain vegetables, called Nightshades, that cause inflammation, and have been known to cause Vitiligo. Some of these nightshades that you should avoid is: tomatoes, white eggplant, paprika, potatoes and tobacco. Processed foods should be avoided as much as possible.
Treatment cannot cure vitiligo.
While researchers are looking for a cure, treatment cannot currently cure this disease. Treatment can help restore lost skin color, but the color (repigmentation) may fade over time. To keep their results, many patients have maintenance treatments.
Vitiligo can also affect the hair, causing white or prematurely gray hair. Some people lose some of their eye color and see light spots on the colored part of an eye. Vitiligo can also develop inside your ear and may affect your hearing.
Vitiligo (pronounced: vittle-EYE-go) is a skin disorder that causes depigmentation (loss of skin color) in irregular patchy patterns. The disorder itself is rare, affecting only about 0.5% to 1% of the world's population.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way. The normal role of the immune system is to protect you from infections and cancer.
Never use a tanning bed or sun lamp.
These are not safe alternatives to the sun. These, too, can burn skin that has lost pigment and worsen vitiligo. Tanning will not tan the areas that have lost color and can actually make your vitiligo more noticeable.
Nevertheless, vitiligo has been found to be associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and autoimmune hepatitis [17].
Vitiligo usually manifests in the second or third decade of life and is believed to be an acquired condition, though a positive family history is present in 30 to 40 percent of cases. Congenital vitiligo and presentation at birth is a very rare entity, but cases in infancy have been reported.
Vitiligo does not cause harm to the body. Treatments, which vary in effectiveness, are usually designed to restore color to the affected patches of skin.
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.
Vitiligo can appear at any age, but it has been most frequently observed in the first two decades [2]. In particular, it tends to appear before the age of 10 in about 25% of the patients [3, 4].
Vitiligo is not contagious
It cannot be transmitted via touch, saliva, blood, inhalation, sexual intercourse or by sharing of personal items like water bottle, bath towels, swimming pool, etc. Some people also believe that they can get Vitiligo by patting dogs with white spots on their head!