The Effect Of Segmental Vitiligo On The Body

Areas of red skin that doesn’t go away when pressure applied, sore skin, dry skin, hot or cold areas of skin, blisters or broken skin should all be reported. Discoloured skin should also be reported.

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder that affects the pigmentation of the skin. Pigment is what gives the skin color and is produced by cells called melanocytes. In the disorder, the body attacks the melanocytes resulting in the loss of color in patchy areas. When the color is lost, the affected area becomes a white irregular shaped patch on the outer layer of the skin. Vitiligo can affect a very small portion of the body or affect up to fifty percent of the skin. The most common areas of the body affected by the disorder include the hands, feet, arms, face and sometimes the genitalia. This illness can be treated but it cannot be cured

Melanoma being the austere form of skin cancer which can be fatal in most cases. Mayo Clinic’s article on the diseases and conditions of melanoma gives good clarity as to what is actually occurring, and how it forms. The article states that what causes melanoma is unclear and hasn’t been discovered but what takes place is the melanocytes that generate melanin cells is agitated by unknown causes which results in the change in pigmentation of the skin or a change in a current mole already present on the skin. Strategies that can help you detect the symptoms of melanoma consist of the letters “A- E meaning A: asymmetrical shape regarding moles, B: irregular boarders, C: change in color, D: diameter, and E: evolving” (Mayo Clinic Staff 2016) Melanoma can appear not only on the skin but underneath a person’s nail, it can affect their eyesight and rarely their internal organs such as the mouth, urinary tract, and digestive tract called mucosal melanoma. These are noted to be hidden

Vitiligo is a continual and long term skin problem that causes white depigmentation on your skin. The white patches appear due to melanocytes within the skin dying off. Melanocytes are cells that reproduce causing pigment, if you lack melanocytes then you will have white patches. Melanin, which gives your skin color also protect you from the sun’s UV rays. Vitiligo affects people differently; there is not an exact place where you can have it. You can have it all over your body, hair, mouth, and even eyes.

Melanin is an important part of the body that is produced by melanocytes. Melanin gives the hair, skin, and eyes color as well as protects the body from the ultra violet rays that radiate from the sun. The amount of melanin in the body determines the complexion of the skin. Vitiligo occurs when these important melanocytes die in patches around the body. This differs from the aging process, when melanocytes stop producing melanin which results in white or gray hair. Vitiligo is a non-contagious, non-life-threatening condition which causes a discoloration of the skin that appears over time, but does not go away. Most people say this condition is painless, but some report itching, and pain. This condition affects millions of people around the world, proportionately between men and women, and can be present in any given race, although it is more apparent in darker skin

Vitiligo is an auto-immune disease where melanocytes, the cells that make pigment in the skin, are destroyed (Vora, Patel, Chaudhary, Mehta & Pilani, 2014). It is characterized clinically by totally white patches of skin, also known as lesions, appearing primarily on visible areas of the body, including face and hands (Osman, Elkordufani & Abdullah, 2009). In very rare cases vitiligo is accompanied by itching or other somatic symptoms but gradual discoloration is generally its only physical symptom (Schmid-Ott et al., 2007). The patches develop unpredictably and while there is a genetic component to vitiligo, race and age do not affect the incidence of the disease (Gupta, Sreenivas, Mehta, Khaitan & Ramam,

The hormonal changes cause the skin pigments to change too. Other reasons may include the excessive use of cosmetics. Cosmetic products should be used with care and due diligence. One should analyze it carefully the type of cosmetic product that suits the skin. Otherwise it can cause serious repercussions. Moreover the diet you’re taking in also defines your skin type.

Playing around freely and making new friends wasn’t too easy for Michaela, as she was one of the only few people who had Vitiligo, a rare skin condition. Michaela was often prejudged by negative people who would tell her to quit because of the way she looks. The words coming out of people’s mouth meant great value to Michaela. Some even told her that she wouldn’t be able to continue dancing and succeed when she is older. “Once, someone in the ballet world, a man whose opinion meant a lot to me, said to my mother, we don’t like to waste a lot of time, money, and effort on the black girls. When they reach puberty, they develop big thighs and behinds and can’t dance ballet anymore,” Michaela remembered while watching a performance, (DePrince pg.124).

Vitiligo is defined as an autoimmune disease with a strong genetic component, characterized by areas of depigmented skin resulting from loss of epidermal melanocytes (Changbing, 2016). The term vitiligo derives Latin and was first used by Celsus in his De Medicina (Iannella, 2015). This disease causes the loss of skin color and it becomes blotchy. The extent and rate of color loss from vitiligo are uncertain. It can affect the skin on any part of the body examples would be hair, the insides of the mouth and even the eyes (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Normally, the color of hair, skin and eyes is determined by melanin. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Melanin is responsible for giving humans their skin, hair and eye color, this pigment is mainly composed of melanocytes cells in the skin and is sometimes referred to as a chemical as part of the metabolizing process of an amino acid called tyrosine. Vitiligo can affect people of all skin types, but is general found common on lighter people but those with darker skin are more prone to this disease and it is more noticeable.

Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin.

Vitiligo is a rare skin condition in which patches of skin progressively lose their pigmentation. Vitiligo affects about 1% of the Earth’s population. It can affect people of all races and both genders, but is more noticeable on darker skin tones.

Pediatric Primary Care Physicians (PCP) deal with several visits related to skin problems. Children present with common skin diseases differently than adults. PCPs ought to be capable of treating a majority of these children (Prindaville, Antaya, and Siegfried, 2015). A very valuable skill for all PCPs to possess is the ability to recognize common skin conditions. The skin functions as an important barrier to dehydration and infection. It is imperative to acknowledge that any deterioration in the normal function of the skin can cause morbidity and mortality, especially in babies due to vulnerability to loss of heat, infection and dehydration. Varicella, Impetigo and Atopic Dermatitis are three common pediatric skin diseases.

Vitiligo occurs when melanocytes die or stop producing the pigment that gives a skin, hair, and eye color. When people have vitiligo the skin becomes whiter, and it usually occurs on skin on both sides of the body. The exact trigger is not known, but it relates to the immune system to attack, destroy the melanin-forming cells because of the family history, sunburn, stress, or exposure to chemicals. It can happen at any age, but usually occurs before the age 20.

Small lentigines ≤ 5 mm well defined, brown to black in color and could be widely distributed

Like Dr. Morgan said, the reason people get vitiligo is unknown. Even though a person can get it at any time in their life, people usually get it between the ages of 10 and 30. It does not matter whether you are a female or a male or your race; anybody can contract it. At the moment it’s believed that a person cannot be born with it. For vitiligo to be diagnosed, a doctor needs a precise history of illnesses the patient may have had, family history and scrutiny of a characteristic lesions. “ There is no clear pattern of inheritance and no one yet knows which (if any) gene or group of genes is responsible for the condition in humans”, said Dr. Morgan. In an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 1993, Michael said, “ It’s in my family, my father said it’s on his side. I can’t control it, I don’t understand, I mean, it makes me very sad”. Skin disorders like tinea versicolor need to be excluded. Mostly doctors diagnose by observation. The loss of pigmentation is more noticeable in people with darker skin. The doctor can order a skin biopsy to make sure the patient does not have another disease that is not vitiligo. In some cases, the doctor can suggest the patient get an eye examination to make sure they do not have uveitis ( inflammation of part of the eye), which can be associated with vitiligo. This disease can be linked with