White spots on the face can be a sign of vitiligo

Disease when there are white spots on the faceand other visible areas (arms, legs), called vitiligo. Such a violation of pigmentation can occur in people of any race, but most often it is exposed to young people with swarthy skin.

Causes of Vitiligo

Normally, the skin contains a brown pigment -melanin, produced by coloring it in flesh-colored cells (melanocytes). When examining the skin of people who have white spots on their face, legs or hands, the absence of melanocytes is revealed under the microscope. The reasons for this are unknown until now, but experts identify some factors that can provoke vitiligo. These include autoimmune disorders (in which human immunity becomes hyperactive and eliminates melanocytes), stressful situations, exposure to certain chemicals, neuronal and viral factors, damage to the skin during sunburn, and wounds on the skin.

How is vitiligo manifested?

Even in childhood, vitiligo can be expressedas the mole of depigmentation surrounding the mole. That is, around any birthmark on the body, the skin becomes much lighter than it should be in a normal state. In general, the signs of discoloration are primarily found in those parts of the skin that are constantly exposed to sunlight. Therefore, if you have a white spot on your face, this may well be a symptom of vitiligo. Usually such spots appear several: they are asymmetrical, with uneven edges, which is explained by the alternation of zones with partial loss of melanin with zones of its complete absence. It also happens that white spots on the skin of the face, hands or feet appear only on one side. This condition is called segmental vitiligo. In some people, the skin is damaged only in places where there have been injuries, such as scratches, surgical sutures.

Treatment of vitiligo

The main goal in the treatment of vitiligo is to forcethe body independently produce melanin, which will neutralize white spots on the face and limbs. For this, patients are prescribed medications that increase the sensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet light. Such drugs can be used either orally (taking tablets) or externally (rubbing into unpigmented skin areas of ointments or special solutions). Photochemotherapy and skin irradiation with ultraviolet rays can also be performed. It is possible to achieve a good result in treatment, but the process of therapy will have to be repeated several times with minimal pauses between courses. In recent years, more and more specialists have been removing white spots on the face with laser therapy and photosensitizing drugs. By the way, laser therapy in comparison with photochemotherapy has a number of significant advantages, consisting in a shorter period of treatment and no side effects. In patients suffering from vitiligo, the body lacks copper and vitamin C, so these substances must necessarily be taken in the composition of medicines. Immunomodulatory medications are also prescribed. Often, skin transplantation is often used as a method of treatment.