Posted by: livingwithvitiligo : Category: Vitiligo also known as Leucoderma is skin de-pigmentation disorder that loses skin pigment due to destruction of melanocytes. Melanocytes produce melanin (pigment producing cells) present in the basal layer of the skin. Melanin gives color to the skin and protects the skin against harmful UV rays of sunlight. The skin becomes faded in the form of patches due to stoppage in the production of melanin.
Vitiligo symptoms are very obvious in dark complexioned people because of the prominent difference between the skin color and white patches. The manifestation of the normally pigmented skin with completely de-pigmented skin is sudden or gradual and the appearance of the lesions looks as flat areas with no pigment at all.
Vitiligo symptoms do not cause any physical discomfort like pain or itching. Focal vitiligo is limited to a single area and this type of vitiligo is believed to remain stable. If the type of vitiligo is segmental vitiligo than only one side of the body gets de-pigmented in the form of patches and the other side remains unaffected.
As environmental factors are believed to be a cause of vitiligo so in most of the cases vitiligo appears on those parts of the body that have more and frequent exposure to sun. The most commonly affected areas by vitiligo are the skin are the face, elbows, knees, hands, feet, groin and the genitals.
Tags: de-pigmentation, vitiligo, vitiligo symptoms, white patches