What Are Symptoms of Vitiligo

The only sign of vitiligo is the appearance of pale to white patches on the body ,in some cases this can be preceded by itching on skin, after a new patch appears, it can
» Increase in size for varying periods of time.
» New patches can appear in other areas of the body.
» Injuries suffered during this period can turn white in color.
This is called the unstable phase of vitiligo a period of time when the disease is very much active inside the body, and can last for months to years.
The only treatment for spreading patches is medical, no surgical option is possible during this period.
Patches can appear on any part of the body may be single,or multiple, may be restricted to one half of the body ,or appear symmetrically on both sides of the body depending upon the pattern of vitiligo.
At times the loss of skin color can happen around all body openings like ears, eyes, nostrils, mouth, umbilicus, anus and penis.
Like I said before Vitiligo can produce either a single patch, few patches or multiple patches on the body, accordingly we can classify it on a simpler level which a common person can understand into
1.Focal vitiligo : One or few patches appear on the body, in focal vitiligo if medical treatment fails to deliver results then Melanocyte transplant offers an excellent cure for it, once the patches have stopped spreading.
Chances of curing these patches are excellent.
2.Segmental Vitiligo : Here like the name suggest a segment of skin is affected by white patches, segmental vitiligo affects only one half of the body never crosses the midline ,does not respond well to medical treatment most of the times and responds very well to Melanocyte transplant surgery.
Chances of curing these patches are excellent.
3.Generalised Vitiligo : Here the patches are symmetrical and appear on both sides of the body, hence one can have patches from top to bottom and on both sides of the body, most common areas affected could be the eyes, bony prominences like elbows, wrist, fingers, knees and foot ,and to top it up patches can also appear on the chest ,abdomen, lips, nipples,& genitals and legs.
These patches can respond well to medical and surgical options, medical works in all the areas of the body that have black hairs and the rest that does not respond well to medical treatment can be finished with Melanocyte transplant surgery.