Vitiligo (vih-tih-LY-go) is a loss of skin pigment, or color, that causes white spots or patches on the skin. While vitiligo might make kids self-conscious, this skin condition is not medically dangerous. It's not a form of skin cancer, it's not an infection like MRSA, and it's not contagious.
Most often, the white spots on the skin heal on their own without treatment. But, if your child feels self-conscious, your healthcare provider may advise treating the patches with moisturizers or other topical medications to speed the healing process.
Nutritional deficiencies
Deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E can cause white patches on the skin.
White spots on the skin, also known as leukoderma or vitiligo, can be caused by a variety of factors, including vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin B-12, vitamin C, vitamin D, and folate deficiencies can all cause white spots on the skin.
See a dentist or GP if:
you have a white patch in your mouth that has not gone away after 2 weeks. you have a white patch on your tongue and a weakened immune system – for example, you have HIV or have had an organ transplant.
Skin discolouration can also be caused due to a number of nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin D, vitamin E, calcium that can cause white patches on your face or other parts of your body. Well, though this disease is not contagious, it leaves a big scar on the amount of self-confidence you possess.
Tinea versicolor is a fungal skin rash. It's caused by too much growth of a normal yeast on the skin. The most common symptom is patches on the skin that may look white, pink, or light brown.
White patches are the main vitiligo symptoms. Patches are commonly found on the hands, feet, arms, face and lips, and children with vitiligo may also notice white hair. In some children, vitiligo patches don't spread, and in others they do. It is not usually a life-threatening condition.
Most people with a vitamin D deficiency do not have any symptoms. If they do, common symptoms are muscle weakness or cramps, bone pain, feeling tired or being depressed. Vitamin D deficiency can cause babies and children to get rickets. Rickets is a disease that causes thin, weak and deformed bones.
Both conditions cause white or light patches of skin or hair. Piebaldism occurs when a portion of your skin doesn't have melanocytes, which are cells that produce pigment (melanin). You're born with piebaldism. Vitiligo occurs when your body has melanocytes, but they're destroyed.
Skin discoloration can be triggered by a number of causes, including: Atopic dermatitis (eczema). Sometimes a small area of skin becomes irritated, which results in a patch of skin that's lighter in pigment than is the skin around it (pityriasis alba). This is common in children who have eczema.
How Is Vitiligo Treated? There is no "cure" for vitiligo. Sometimes patches go away on their own.
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.
White spots can appear when skin proteins or dead cells become trapped under the skin's surface. They can also result from depigmentation, or color loss, due to vitiligo or another health condition. White skin spots are not usually a reason for concern and do not cause major symptoms.
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.
This condition is more common in babies who are premature or who have a low birth weight. Symptoms may be hard to see but may include poor feeding, muscle twitches, and lethargy. This condition may get better without treatment, especially if there are no symptoms.
Babies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and phosphorus. Too little vitamin D can cause rickets, a softening and weakening of bones. Since sun exposure — an important source of vitamin D — isn't recommended for babies, supplements are the best way to prevent vitamin D deficiency.
So the recommendation is that the baby should receive its own oral vitamin D drops containing 7-8.5µg per day from 4 weeks of birth until the age of 5 years. Waiting until the baby is 6 months may be too late to prevent development of symptoms. Mothers may also develop symptoms of deficiency themselves.
Milia occurs when dead skin cells from the epidermis get trapped within small pockets on the skin's surface rather than falling off. This causes the tiny, white coloured, pearl-like bumps on the skin of the baby. The bumps are often confused with baby acne, but they are not the same condition.
Causes of Vitiligo in Children:
Since it is an autoimmune disease, the cause of vitiligo is still unknown in children. Even though it is a genetic disease caused by a mutation in genes or genome (set of genes) and is usually said to be 'running in the family', it is not necessarily a hereditary disease.
Inheriting certain genes may increase the risk of something triggering (causing it to happen) vitiligo. Known vitiligo triggers include: A severe sunburn. Injured skin (cut, scrape, burn) Getting a strong chemical like phenol on your skin.
Tinea versicolor is a common fungal infection of the skin. The fungus interferes with the normal pigmentation of the skin, resulting in small, discolored patches. These patches may be lighter or darker in color than the surrounding skin and most commonly affect the trunk and shoulders.
Pityriasis versicolor can sometimes be confused with vitiligo, as they both cause the skin to become discoloured in patches. But there are ways to tell the difference: vitiligo often develops symmetrically (on both sides of your body at the same time), while pityriasis versicolor may not.