Vitiligo
Vitiligo causes your skin to lose color or pigmentation. Smooth white or light areas called macules or patches appear on your skin. It generally starts on your hands, forearms, feet and face.
What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo (pronounced “vit-il-EYE-go”) is a skin condition that causes your skin to lose its color or pigment. This causes your skin to appear lighter than your natural skin tone or turn white. Areas of your skin that lose their pigment are called macules if they’re less than 1 centimeter wide, or patches if they’re larger than 1 centimeter. If you have vitiligo on a part of your body that has hair, your hair may turn white or silver.
Who does vitiligo affect?
Vitiligo affects all races and sexes equally. It’s more visible in people with darker skin tones. Although vitiligo can develop in anyone at any age, macules or patches usually become apparent before age 30.
You might be at a higher risk of developing vitiligo if you have certain autoimmune conditions like:
How common is vitiligo?
Vitiligo occurs in over 1% of the population throughout the world.
Where will I have symptoms of vitiligo?
Symptoms of vitiligo can appear anywhere on the skin of your body. The most common places to have symptoms of vitiligo include on your:
Hands.
Feet.
Arms.
Face.
Mucous membranes (inside of your mouth, lips and nose).
Genitals (penis).