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Original poster

Anyone here have experience with Vitiligo

32 replies

yellobunny91 · 03/06/2015 21:28

I am terrified that I have it and could use some advice.

Thank you!

OP posts:
iwantgin · 04/06/2015 09:47

Are you sure it is vitiligo?

I have developed white patches over the past few years, but it is sun damage.

This [http://dermnetnz.mobify.me/colour/guttate-hypomelanosis.html]]

iwantgin · 04/06/2015 09:49

[http://dermnetnz.mobify.me/colour/guttate-hypomelanosis.html link]]

Link fail.

So no treatment. I have noticed quite a few people with this. Just back from a sunny holiday and mine are definitely getting worse.

iwantgin · 04/06/2015 09:51

Oh man.... Last attempt

<a class="break-all" href="http://dermnetnz.mobify.me/colour/guttate-hypomelanosis.htmdermnetnz.mobify.me/colour/guttate-hypomelanosis.htmll" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link

Original poster
yellobunny91 · 04/06/2015 22:55

Hi iwantgin,
thank you so much for responding. No, I am not sure its vitiligo (am hoping its not). I know its not sun damage too. I developed slight hypopigmantation on my face about three months ago. They are splotches that are about half a shade lighter than my skin tone. I also have one very small splotch on my leg that is about a shade lighter.

I went to the dermatologist and she did a woods light test and blood work and said it didn't appear to be vitiligo and prescribed me an anti fungal and steroid (stopped using steroid after 6 six days as am terrified of steroids). The patches are still there (been using anti fungal for almost two months now) and my GP is unsure about what it is and is sending me back to the dermatologist.

Although it is very discolouration is very slight am being hypersensitive to it and it is really effecting myself esteem and giving me a lot of anxiety because we don't know what it is and I am scared that it will be vitiligo.

OP posts:
Archiesnan · 06/06/2015 03:03

My daughter has vitiligo. she started getting patches on her right leg when she was about 6, she is now 21. She also has some around her mouth and on one eyelid - these patches are very faint. I was very upset when she was diagnosed and thought she would be teased and suffer with her confidence and I couldn't be more wrong. I'm sure it sounds strange to you but she embraced being different and even said that she wouldn't be her without them.

If it is please don't despair it can be covered with make up or even fake tan to some extent and you could even try light treatment. My daughter had some success with this on her much larger patches before. She comes to Me regular and shows me a patch that has disappeared by itself.

Original poster
yellobunny91 · 07/06/2015 00:59

Thank you Archiesnan for your response. I am trying not to get too worked up over this until I know for certain what it is. I did notice another spot tonight, although the skin has a scar like texture to it so I am wondering if it is a scar that I haven't noticed before...I am over examining everything now.

How light are your daughters patches? My skin is light olive colour, so my concern is that if it is vitiligo, the spots I have now will fade to pure white and be very noticeable.

Thank you.

OP posts:
BlackBettyBamALam · 07/06/2015 07:02

I have vitiligo, it developed after a really stressful period in my life about 8 years ago. At first I was extremely conscious of it, as two of my colleagues would point and snigger, but tbh as time has gone on, I've got used to it. It's quite common. You do have to watch yourself in the sun as the white patches have no pigment so can burn easily but other than that, life carries on as normal.

ragged · 07/06/2015 07:02

Friend had it, we used to laugh about it. He was olive-skinned. He'd pull up his shirt to reveal new patches. Why are you terrified?

BlackBettyBamALam · 07/06/2015 07:06

Meant to also say my DS thinks it's great - he calls me Camo Mum Grin

Archiesnan · 07/06/2015 09:01

Yello my daughters patches are very white against her pigmented skin. She is going abroad with friends next month , she will still put on a bikini (and plenty of sun cream ) and as she tans they will become more noticeable but she's confident enough to not care. I read stress can cause you to develope more patches or make your existing ones bigger. She always said that there are far worst things that could be wrong with her. Please try not to worry

Original poster
yellobunny91 · 08/06/2015 11:27

Thanks everyone. I will try not to worry and am hoping its just a fungal infection because the patches are not white, just about half a shade lighter than my skin. I am terrified because it is scary watching your skin change and not knowing what is causing it. My doctors and dermatologist said that to them it doesn't look like vitiligo and the woods light test and blood test were negative for it - but they aren't sure what is causing the hypopigmantation. The patch on my skin looks very similar to scar tissue, its a little wrinkly and I can feel the difference between that patch and the rest of the my skin. Does vitiligo feel different at all from the rest of your skin? Or does it feel like just the normal skin?

Can vitiligo be covered by makeup?

Thanks!

OP posts:
Archiesnan · 08/06/2015 11:34

Yello, it can be covered with make up and the patches just feel the same.

JulyKit · 08/06/2015 11:43

I have vitiligo. It became very apparent during/after a very stressful time about 20 years ago. Some of my hair turned white and pigmentless patches appeared, mostly on my face. (I have olive skin which goes sallow without sun and dark in sun.)

During periods of intense stress, I sometimes develop another small patch or two, but not at a great rate. I think it's at those times that the patches show the most, but it may just be that that's when I notice them.

The edges of my white patches aren't very sharply defined, so it's easy for me to cover them up with makeup.

TBH, the way my vitiligo looks doesn't bother me much. Some of the patches are a bit unattractive. (Like many sufferers, I have white skin around my mouth, but it doesn't show too badly.) Some of my patches I'm quite fond of. It's easy to cover up the ones I don't like. I see them as smallish imperfections, no big deal. As visual flaws go, there are other things that would bother me much, much more!

The thing that worries me most about having vitiligo is that it's thought to be related to a susceptibility to diabetes. (For me, this fits as I have diabetic close family.) For that reason, I take vitiligo as a warning signal: I'm careful about diet, etc.

JulyKit · 08/06/2015 11:45

Sorry - first part of my post makes it sound as if I'm covered in hair... I'm not!
(If I was then I'd find that much more worrying than a spot of vitiligo!) Grin

blackheartsgirl · 08/06/2015 23:07

I also have vitiligo and I've had it now for 16 years. What started as a tiny patch on my arm has now spread to the entirety of my body apart from a patch of my neck which is still an olive colour and a few patches on my back.

My face is also affected and is noticeable around my eyes although not as bad as when my skin was going through depigmentation stage.I won't lie and say I wasn't affected at first, I absolutely hated the way my body looked at first especially my face.It really affected my self confidence. Most people have been really nice and not commented although I've had some idiots saying oh you left your sunglasses on sunbathing hur hur or just stared. I did get referred to the red cross for camouflage make up but I couldn't afford it and in any case it became completely pointless as my patches became huge, joined up and now pretty much all over. I do wear fake tan sometimes which evens out my skin tone a bit but more often or not these days I just don't bother, if people don't like me as I am well they can take a running leap of a big cliff. I wear total sunblock in the summer even on cloudy days and a hat. I am aware that I could develop other issues such as diabetes, I was borderline in each of my four pregnancies and I keep a close eye on that, my thyroid has been tested too.

My skin pigment has come back slightly on my arm, it was very noticeable last year in the summer, it looked like I had hundreds of freckles on my upper arm and I really liked the way it looked but sadly they have mostly faded now.

It's part of me now tbh and I've accepted it

blackheartsgirl · 08/06/2015 23:09

I meant to say that mine started in pregnancy at the age of 21. I've since found out my mums cousin has it, my mum also has some white patches and also my nan had thyroid problems

BeyondDoesBootcamp · 09/06/2015 13:33

My youngest has it, both i and my dad have AI conditions too, but different ones. Wasnt too obvious when his hair was long, but since it had to be shaved (eldest playing hairdresser...) people keep mentioning his 'bald spot'

Anyone here have experience with Vitiligo
ragged · 09/06/2015 14:22

is that vitiligo or poliosis, Beyond?

BeyondDoesBootcamp · 09/06/2015 15:40

I asked gp if it was poliosis, she told me they were the same, except one in hair and one on skin? Ds1 has a splodge on his chest too, but its less obvious that ds2s hair

ragged · 09/06/2015 17:05

I think the hair/skin difference is quite a lot.
2 of my boys have poliosis. Nowhere else in family, so bit of a shock.

I tried to find info about the difference & almost all that comes up is SODDING ads for covering up vitiligo. Talk about preying on fears Angry

Wikipedia says they are separate conditions (who knows?). I thought poliosis was purely genetic but vitiligo is genetic with environmental triggers.

scribblescrabble · 09/06/2015 17:14

I've got it, I think my patches are quite pretty ... please don't be terrified of it op, save that for cancer and suchlike! It's really not such a big deal ;)

blackheartsgirl · 09/06/2015 18:42

I e got to say it's never affected my personal relationships. Both my ex and my current partner (together ten years) have said that it never bothered them. I met dp when my face and body were really really patchy.

Original poster
yellobunny91 · 09/06/2015 22:40

Thanks everyone! Your stories have helped me a lot and I really appreciate all of the advice!

So the hypo pigmented spots on my face appeared after having a series of uncomfortable and itchy spots (white, a little scaly) on my face, that were around the same areas where the hypopigmantion appeared. The spots disappeared and about a day later the hypopigmantation arrived. The hypogimantion is about half a shade lighter than my olive skin colour (maybe not even half a shade, my friends said that they would have never noticed it if I hadn't pointed it out).

Like I said in an earlier message, my dermatologist did blood work and woods lamp test and said at the time they were negative for vitiligo and she prescribed an anti-fungal cream which I have been using for about 1.5 months. I am getting concerned though because the spots have not gone away yet and of course my constant googling of skin conditions is causing some health anxiety.

The lightness on the skin above my lip showed up a month ago. The skin there feels warm and irritated (not sure how to describe it exactly) and the lightness seems to come and go (I am thinking it may be associated with stress because it went away for a couple weeks when I was off work and then appeared again last week following my return to work, or maybe I am allergic to something in the building at work).

I also have a cluster of red pimples that I have been on my cheek for about two months now. Up until this point I have had very good skin and rarely have a blemish so I am thinking this might all be related (or connected to all the cream I am using now for my skin).

Any ideas about what could be going on with my skin would be much appreciated. Has anyone else experienced this before?

Thank you!

OP posts:
BlackBettyBamALam · 12/06/2015 20:20

Doesn't sound like vitiligo, as I don't have any associated itchy or flaky patches.

Could it be an allergy perhaps?

Original poster
yellobunny91 · 13/06/2015 00:09

Thanks Blackbetty! Did your vitiligo just appear one day as a completely white patch?

OP posts: