AIBU to assume I have a sever skin condition?

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

I'm absolutely freaking out!

There is this little area just below my left eyebrow (not the main eyebrow, the part under it where stray hairs grow and I get them threaded). I've noticed since the past 4 weeks or so that some of the stray the hair that grow in that area are completely white.
I'm 26, so I haven't yet started getting white hair anywhere else on my body.

I'm really stressing because I read that this can be a symptom of vitiligo . My aunt has vitiligo and I know the cause can be genetic so I'm extremely anxious. I don't have any actual skin discolouration( some pigmentation, but I've always been prone to that)

I won't be able to visit a doctor until at least anther 3 weeks (long story), but in the meantime I'm going to have sleepless nights worrying about this.

Has this happened to anyone else? Am I worrying over nothing? Any doctors/GPs here that can put my mind at ease until I can actually go visit a specialist to get this clarified?

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

Please excuse the spelling and grammatical errors, I'm typing on my phone.

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

I almost called NHS emergency and then realised this isn't an emergency at all.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Is this a joke thread or are you really anxious? I get white eyebrows all the time. You've probably always had them and are only just noticing them now as you are threading so taking more notice.

Step away from the mirror, make a cup of tea and go out for some fresh air

[Feawen]

I have no advice, but you poor thing to be so stressed out. I hope it turns out to be nothing of significance. Have you ever had a knock or scratch there? Sometimes white hairs will grow in like a scar if the follicles are damaged.

I have this one weird white eyelash that grows really long! Had it ages and it's still just the one.

[IHateStampysVoice]

Dame I think she needs your username and your medication.

In all seriousness OP, I think you need to see your GP, not about your white eyebrow hairs but about your health anxiety.

As a previous anxiety sufferer it bloody sucks. But see the bigger picture, you are freaking out about 2 tiny white hairs (I have the same BTW) which just isn't right.

[The5DayChicken]

I have vitiligo OP and do get white hairs on parts of my skin that it affects. I also rock the vitiligo look, it's not a huge cosmetic issue for me

My advice would be (and this is going to sound vulgar, sorry), have a good look at your vulva in the mirror. Genitals are one of the most commonly affected areas and are usually the first obvious sign.

Have you cut yourself recently? Did it heal with your usual skin colour?

How do the tips of your fingers look?

[The5DayChicken]

Also, vitiligo really isn't severe.

[GlitzAndGigglesx]

Sometimes the follicle is damaged so hairs don't grow as normal. I remember practising electrolysis in college and a girl burnt one of the follicles in my leg so I had 2 white hairs spring out. Honestly I'm sure you've got zilch to worry about

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

I swear this isn't a joke thread and you are right in that I do have severe anxiety :-(

TheDay5Chicken- thanks for your post! The tips of my fingers are fine and so is the vulva (shaved recently so I happen to know it's all okay down there)
I have some minor pigmentation on my face an eyelids particularly. And the the hairs above my eyelid started to go white so I really flipped out there for a bit.

I will still get it checked as one can never be too sure, but I was just hoping for some information to rude me through until I see my GP.

Thanks for all the answers

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

(Sorry about the spellings again! Fat fingers)

[The5DayChicken]

Depigmentation is what you'd be looking for in vitiligo really. Doesn't sound like you have it . I understand it can be a big issue for some because of the cosmetic aspects so I understand your worry.

A couple of pale hairs alone shouldn't really set off alarm bells (I'm 26 too and have had a weird blonde hair that grows near my eye in a non-vitiligo area for years and years). But if you're worried, a quick chat with your doctor should put your mind at ease.

[goodasitgets]

I'm 31 and think I have it. Loss of pigment but it's only on one hand, and hasn't spread anywhere else. I worried about it at first but it's stayed in the same place

[scribblescrabble]

High 5 chicken ..... I had my Vitiligo diagnosed from a biopsy on my patchy muff!!

And op, it really isn't the end of the bloody world!! I'm getting cross about these 'shock, horror I may have vitiligo' threads, I have it and it doesn't bother me remotely,but I'm starting to get paranoid now that I look like some kind of Frieison cow/human hybrid that will make small children recoil in horror!

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

I didn't mean to upset or offend anyone at all! I realise that referring to it as a severe skin condition wasn't medically accurate either, so apologies for that.

I wouldn't really care much if there was some pigmentation on my body but somehow the idea of having it on my face really bothers me.

Perhaps because I had acne for years and it's finally gone away now. If been enjoying some normal healthy skin which I didn't think I'd ever have.
So the idea of anything going wrong again makes me a bit paranoid.

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

My aunt has vitiligo and I think she's still beautiful So please don't think I meant to imply that people with the condition look horrifying or scary.

I'm just a bit more paranoid and anxious about any skin condition given that I already have a history of acne and eczema

[lljkk]

Maybe poliosis which is NOT like vitiligo. Poliosis stays in a particular area & doesn't move around like vitiligo. Poliosis is not an auto-immune disorder (vitiligo is). Poliosis has a different mechanism why it happens. P. also easy to treat & hide. I thought poliosis usually hit at a younger age, but people are always individuals.

[FizzyJuiceJunkie]

Ah poliosis would make more sense! I have a vitamin D and B12 deficiency which I'm currently being treated for. I read that this can cause poliosis.

[lljkk]

If it's due to B12 deficiency then should be reversible.

[Custardee]

Poliosis, I've had it since birth but my streak in my hair is blond not white

[Fluffyears]

Around ovulation I get white eyebrow hairs. Just a few but they are at the edges and they are actually transparent rather than white and very odd. Do these hairs appear during periods of high hormonal activity?

[Medea13]

I once dated a guy who had jet black hair/dark body hair but the hair on his scrotum was all white -- yet nary a grey anywhere on him. I always wondered about it... Thanks to this thread that intriguing mystery may have been solved...