What is Vitiligo? And Why do I have it? A blog to help reduce self-stigma of have vitiligo.
I am not alone. In fact, many people have Vitiligo, however there is no cure for vitiligo. Vitiligo is a loss of skin color in blotches. It may result from autoimmune disease, genetics, sunburn, or stress. It 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.
Vitiligo affects all races; however, it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. It commonly begins as small areas of pigment loss that spread and become larger with time. These changes in your skin can result in stress and worries about your appearance. Currently there’s no way to prevent vitiligo or stop its progression. However, treatments may restore some skin tone and may stop or slow the discoloration from spreading to other areas of your body
If you are reading this, chances are you already have vitiligo or suspect that might have it. I am not a doctor and I am giving no medical advice on this blog. I am merely sharing my personal experience with vitiligo. I will do my best to give the most accurate information in order to help you better understand vitiligo and how it has impacted my life.
I was diagnosed with vitiligo when I was 20 years old but had symptoms since the age of 7. My treatments include topical steroids, PUVA, narrow band UVB and more recently excimer laser treatments. I plan on posting about how each of these treatments worked for me, along with pictures for reference.
It is my hope that this blog helps reduce some of the self-stigma that comes with having a skin condition like vitiligo. If you have any questions regarding vitiligo or would like to provide feedback on the blog, please feel free to email me at dianalynn@vitiligoblogger.com
I am Aleron, and I have vitiligo.
I have vitiligo, a health condition that affects 1-2% of the world population in which the skin looses its pigment and becomes lighter in patches. When I was diagnosed with vitiligo (a condition that affects approximately 1-2% of the world’s population), I had never even heard of it before. After a Google search, I was traumatized by the images of others who have this condition and shocked to find out that there is no cure for it. It didn’t help that the only time I had ever seen someone with white patches on their skin was when they were playing a villain or were considered “freaks.”
The purpose of this blog is two-fold:
1) To share my experiences with vitiligo and also to provide information about it so that others who may be affected by it do not feel alone and/or stigmatized.
2) To raise awareness about Vitiligo. Although Michael Jackson made vitiligo popular, he never completely embraced his vitiligo nor discussed what it was like to live with it. In fact, you can barely find any information about him having vitiligo despite the fact that he has been featured in several
Vitiligo is a condition that causes depigmentation of parts of the skin. It occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation, 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 caused by autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress, neural or viral causes. Vitiligo may result in psychological stress and stigmatization.
Vitiligo can start at any age, but usually appears before age 30; about half of people develop it before age 20. For some people, vitiligo is limited to a few areas of pigmentation loss. Others lose pigment on many areas of their skin. There is no cure for vitiligo yet, but there are treatments that can help restore pigment to the affected areas of your skin.
Vitiligo is a condition that causes the skin to lose its pigment, or color. It’s sometimes called leukoderma.
The color in human skin comes from special cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce melanin, a dark brown or black pigment. When you have vitiligo, some of your melanocytes are destroyed. This causes white patches to appear on your skin in different areas of your body.
Vitiligo can also affect hair and the inside of the mouth.
When vitiligo affects only certain areas of the body, it is known as segmental vitiligo. When it spreads across the body it is known as non-segmental vitiligo.
There is no cure for vitiligo, but some treatments can help stop or slow the discoloring process. They include:
– Topical corticosteroids (medications applied directly to the skin)
– Depigmentation treatments (lightening normal pigmented skin)
– Light therapy (treated with light from a special lamp)
Vitiligo is a condition in which white patches develop on the skin. Any location on the body can be affected, and most people with vitiligo have white patches on many areas of their body.
It 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.
Vitiligo can also affect the mucous membranes (such as the tissue inside your mouth and nose) and the retina (inner layer of your eyeball).
It’s not known exactly what triggers vitiligo, but it often starts after some trigger event such as sunburn, emotional distress or injury to the skin. One theory is that some autoimmune diseases may cause vitiligo. Autoimmune diseases occur when your immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. The destruction of melanocytes may be triggered by something such as emotional distress or sunburn, but it’s unclear why this sometimes happens.
In other cases, the cause isn’t clear but appears to be hereditary (runs in families). Vit
What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a skin condition where patches of the skin lose their pigment. It occurs when melanocytes, the cells that make pigment, die or stop functioning. Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. The condition is not life-threatening or contagious. It can start at any age, but often appears before age 20.
It affects about 1% of the world population and approximately 10 million people in the United States alone. This means that about 1 in every 100 people have vitiligo. There are many different types of vitiligo and many theories as to what causes it. The most common type is called “non segmental” which means it tends to be symmetrical on both sides of the body. There are also different types of segmental vitiligo which only affect one side of the body and is usually on one body part such as one leg or arm.
What causes vitiligo?
The exact cause of vitiligo is unknown, but researchers believe that it may arise from autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress, neural or viral causes. Vitiligo is not contagious. You cannot catch it from someone else who