Skin Disorders - Symptoms and Treatment of Vitiligo

When legendary music star Michael Jackson slowly transformed from a dark skin to a pale white skin over the years, a lot of people thought that he had undergone plastic surgery to change his skin colour. The truth came out in an interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In the interview held in 1993, Jackson revealed that suffered from Vitiligo, a type of skin disorders, which caused patches of his skin to lose pigmentation. The reason why he wore his signature gloves covered with crystals in all public appearances was also because of the symptoms of Vitiligo. After his death in June 2009, Jackson's autopsy report confirmed that he suffered from Vitiligo skin disorder.

Jackson's plight brought skin disorders such as Vitiligo into spotlight. Recently, Michael Jackson's son, Prince Michael, was photographed with white patches on his hand leading the media to speculate that his son also had the same disease.

This article looks at the common symptoms associated with Vitiligo and suspected causes of the disease. A list of skin disorders with similar symptoms is also given, along with treatment options for Vitiligo.

Symptoms of Vitiligo Skin Disorder

Loss of skin colour leading to white patches is the main symptom of Vitiligo skin disorder. From a single isolated patch, the discolouration may spread and many more white patches may appear over a number of years.

The symptoms may appear on the hands and face. It can also appear in the neck area, knees, elbows and eyes. They usually develop in skin areas after sun exposure. When skin disorders such as Vitiligo spreads to the scalp, it can cause the hair to turn white or grey. The inside of the mouth can also be affected by loss of pigmentation.

The symptoms of Vitiligo skin disorder can appear on hands on just one side of the body or on both sides. If there is skin discolouration all over the body, it is known as generalised or universal Vitiligo. If white patches are present only in a certain area or only on one side, the Vitiligo is said to be segmental.

Vitiligo usually appears before the age of 40.

Causes of Common Skin Disorder Vitiligo

The outer layer of our skin is called epidermis. The epidermis has skin cells known as Melanocytes. Melanocytes are responsible for producing the human skin colour or pigment, Melanin.

When there is damage to Melanocytes, the ability of the body to produce pigment or Melanin is inhibited and white patches appear on the skin. Inadequate Melanin is areas of the skin leads to the common skin disorder Vitiligo.

There is no clear answer on what exactly causes the harm to Melanocytes. Studies strongly point fingers at genetic causes for the development of skin disorders such as Vitiligo indicating that it may be hereditary.

Any adverse effect on the how the human autoimmune system works can also cause skin disorders such as Vitiligo. In autoimmune diseases, the body reacts against and causes harm to its own cells and tissues. In Vitiligo, Melanocytes, which are needed to produce the skin colour, are destroyed or harmed by the body. Presence of common skin disorder Vitiligo is more often found in people with other autoimmune disorders such as

• Alopecia areata - There are bald spots in the scalp when hair follicles are damaged.
• Pernicious anaemia - Vitamin B12 deficiency due to difficulty in absorption from the gut causes this disorder. Gastric Parietal cells are damaged which leads to amaemic conditions.
• Autoimmune hyperthyroidism - Also known as Graves Disease, the body causes the thyroid gland to be overactive and produces excess Thyroxine hormone.

Other factors can such as sunburn, reaction to some chemicals or even stress can cause Vitiligo symptoms. Recently, John Hamm, the star actor in the American series "Mad Men", revealed that the stress from shooting had led to him developing common skin disorder Vitiligo. Hamm said that skin discolouration had started appearing on his hands due to the stress.

List of Skin Disorders Similar to Vertiligo

Presence of white patches may not just indicate the presence of Vitiligo. They may also be symptoms of other skin disorders.

A list of skin disorders with similar symptoms as Vitiligo includes:

• Tinea Versicolor - Also known as Pytiriasis Versicolor, it is a yeast infection.
• Psoriasis - This is a chronic skin condition also characterised by patches of skin discolouration.
• Idiopathic Guttate Hypomelanosis - This skin disorder largely affects women.

Treatment of Vitiligo

Current treatment strategies are centred around reducing or hiding the skin discolouration patches that appear in patients of skin disorders such as Vitiligo.



If the disease is in its early stages, specific steroid creams can help in bringing the colour back to the areas of white patches and also in stopping further spread of the patches. Corticosteroid creams are usually prescribed for causing the skin pigmentation to reappear. Intensive use of Corticosteroid creams for such skin disorders may cause lines on the skin and thinning of the skin.

If the white patches are present in many areas of the body, then light therapy or Psoralen and Ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy can be beneficial. In PUVA therapy, the patient is prescribed a medication Psoralen which can be applied on the skin. The skin is then exposed to ultraviolet A ray lamp. This helps in repigmentation. The side effects of the PUVA therapy may be sunburn and excessive pigmentation.

A treatment option that Michael Jackson pursued involved decreasing the colour of the entire body skin so that white patches do not stand out. This is known as depigmentation. Depigmentation is done using chemicals such as Hydroquinone. It may have side effects such as sensitivity to sunlight and rashes.

There are also surgical treatment options such as skin grafting. Skin disorders such as Vitiligo can be psychologically damaging as the patient suffers from a loss of confidence. Counselling can help in providing support to people with Vitiligo.

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