To be shocked by multiple white patches on child’s face after foreign sun exposure

[TraciePollins]

Currently on holiday in Turkey. Very very very hot.
DD is 12 and after about 6 days of sun, her face has developed multiple very white patches all over her cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. The white patches are really noticeable as in between these white patches is very tanned skin.
I have applied SPF50 waterproof to her face every 2-3 hours all day every day from the minute we leave our hotel until sunset since we've been here. Kept in shade plenty in between sea and pool.
She has never ever had this before and we've been on plenty of summer holidays in hot weather before, but this is her first time in heat as strong as Turkey.
So now she has a face which is white irregular patches of skin in between tanned skin all over her face.
When we left England 6 days ago she had the same normal complexion with the same colour skin all over her face that she's had all her life.
I'm shocked as I've never seen her skin do this before. Never any sign of it ever in her life.
What on earth has happened?
She's crying because it is freaking her out - the multiple white patches really stand out against the darker tanned skin surrounding the white patches. Her face looks completely different now compared to how it did a week ago before coming away.
What is this? Will it go away?

I also have sun damage on my back that I can date to sitting on a balcony in Hawaii. It is on the one side of my back which was angled toward the sun- but it was the most sunburnt I have ever been, and it blistered at the time. I am quite fair.

My husband has very tanned skin and he has white patches on his skin on his forehead from going to Portugal a few years ago. They get more noticeable when his tan is deeper. But, I would say he used to sun bake (not bathe) for years before the damage showed up.

So, I think that previous posters suggesting it has a more specific cause rather than jumping to her skin is permanently damaged, is probably more likely.

Haha, love the final sentence!

If it’s tinea it can be treated with a strong anti dandruff shampoo (pharmacy not head and shoulders) so perhaps you could try that while you’re away. If she’s self conscious you can use make up to cover the patches until her tan fades or you find a suitable treatment.

There not built for the sun like we are 😂 hence all the sunburned tourists at the beach dad said you knew the Aussies because it's drilled into us about hats and sunscreen so they were the ones being sunsafe

Foreign sun 🫠🫠🫠🫠

Coming over here, giving out white patches

Diagnose it?

This is a classic history of fungal infection (tinea)
the patches are her normal skin colour which hasn’t tanned because of the infection.

anti fungal cream or shampoo from the GP will sort it but the colour won’t even out until either she had more sun exposure or the existing tan fades so don’t panic if it still looks the same after treatment for a while!

It’s hEDS

See a doctor
DH developed loss of pigment due to a fungal infection when we went abroad 12 years ago after being in the sea and sun. Never had it before. Treatable, but he is now more prone to it and seems to get it every few years after a holiday.

My dads friend also had the same happen to him.

😂😂

A British born Jamaica cunt.

I shouldn't but it made me laugh. esp that it was part of ETA. So very important

And am sorry he is a cunt. Kids deserve better. As do you.

More likely to be: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pityriasis-versicolor/
She may have had it prior to the trip but her tan has highlighted?

Sorry, but that made me laugh hard @PyongyangKipperbang

I've learned alot from this thread about vitiligo, thank you all.

Its far more likely to be tinea, you can use Nizoral shampoo on it google how to use it how long to keep it in for etc. or go to the doctor

If it is vitiligo of the autoimmune variety be aware (and make sure your DD is aware as she becomes an adult) that autoimmune conditions can 'cluster'. So if other conditions develop later in life immune system may be the culprit and treatment route.

I have an excitable immune system and vitiligo is one of my conditions.

Same, exactly. Have you found any ways to
slow it all down? Not sure I’m winning with my cluster of things.

Look up pityriasis alba/versicolor.
Much less likely to be vitiligo given this history.
Bit of daktacort twice daily for a week from the GP or a confident pharmacist should sort this out but pigment will take a while to come back.

Does someone need to have one parent who’s a cunt, to be prone to vitiligo? Great description though 😂

I'm afraid not but it does mean that if something new comes along then my first thought will be 'autoimmune' rather than anything else. So far I have been fortunate that the main conditions (thyroid and blood clotting) have been manageable with medication.

For the vitiligo areas on my face I am careful to use a high factor suncream as these areas are vulnerable to burning in the mildest of sun exposure.

Vitiligo can develop out of nowhere. I first had it, on my hands, whn DS1 was a newborn, and I thought it must be something to do with all the extra cleaning I was doing with a newborn in the house! (This wasn't the cause, of course.)
@TraciePollins I'm worried that your fear/panic may have been escalated by the dramatic first reply (which seems extremely bizarre to me!!). If it is vitiligo, it is a harmless condition. It also changes a lot. Just because she has it on her face now, she may not next summer. And of course during the winter it will not be visible because her skin won't be tanned.
You can minimise its appearance by being even more diligent about sunblock. But beyond that, no action would be needed. xxx

I also agree that it sounds like vitiligo. My DD has had it since very young (she's now 20) but this year it is way more obvious than usual (for the last few years it's been basically invisible) and she is developing more patches for the first time in a very long time. I assume it must be something to do with the the increased sun exposure this year or possibly a different type of sun ... .(I am just musing really!)

Please tell your DD that vitiligo is cool these days - there are lots of models now with the condition and it's much more widely known about. My DD hated it when she was younger, but once her peers at school had stopped with the idiotic comments she has grown to like it and feels it's part of what makes her unique.

(Asusming here there is no llink to an auto immunne condition and it's just her skin affected).

My daughter had the same - it is due to sun damage, precisely after years of sun exposure without any burns. But it recovered after a few months.

Maybe because they don't have vitiligo?

If you have insurance I would go and see a private dermatologist in Turkey. This means you get an answer far quicker than you would waiting for a UK GP referral to a dermatologist. When my daughter had an issue with a rash we went to a private hospital and saw a dermatologist there and I was blown away with all the tools they had readily available, same day answer and treatment plan. Wishing your daughter the best.