Leucoderma / Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a relatively common pigmentation disorder in which the skin’s pigment-making cells (melanocytes) are lost or destroyed. As a result, well-defined white patches appear on the skin. … The specific cause of vitiligo is not known.Segmental vitiligo stays on one part of the body and does not spread. Nonsegmental vitiligo usually spreads. For some people, the white patches spread very slowly, maybe over a period of several years, but in others, they spread very quickly. For some people, the patches do not spread at all.Although it can start at any age, vitiligo often first appears between the ages of 20 and 30. The white patches may begin on your face above your eyes or on your neck, armpits, elbows, genitalia, hands or knees. They’re often symmetrical and can spread over your entire body.Vitiligo may be an autoimmune disease. These diseases happen when your immune system mistakenly attacks some part of your own body. In vitiligo, the immune system may destroy the melanocytes in the skin. … Others think that a single event such as sunburn or emotional distress can cause vitiligo.Without treatment most people with vitiligo will continue to notice their condition getting worse over several years. For some people, this is a slow and gradual process affecting only small patches of the skin, but for others it is more rapid and extensive.