What Are the Symptoms of Vitiligo?

Symptoms of Vitiligo

The symptoms are primarily the discolouration of skin in patches, and it can start at any age. Here are some noticeable symptoms of vitiligo.

1. Patches and Spots of Lighter Skin

Vitiligo damages the cells that make pigments. These damaged cells appear as spots and patches on the affected person’s skin. These skin patches can appear anywhere on the skin, including the genitals.

2. Patches Whiten

When vitiligo actively destroys the cells responsible for giving colour to a person’s skin, the patches usually appear pink or tricoloured, causing a tan zone between the natural skin colour and the white vitiligo.

3. Lighter Patches inside the Mouth or Nose

Vitiligo can cause loss of colour even inside the mouth, on or around the lips, and around or inside the nose.

4. Patches Get Sunburn Easily

The skin that gets affected by vitiligo has delicate pigments. These areas become more sensitive to the sun and get tanned or burned easily. On the other hand, sunburn can increase the progression of vitiligo. Therefore, protecting your skin from the sun is very important.

5. Itchy Patches

Usually, vitiligo patches do not cause any discomfort. However, when vitiligo starts spreading, these patches may start itching.

6. Greying of Hair

Vitiligo can impact a person’s hair and make it lose its colour. It turns the skin white, and the hair in that part of the skin turns white. Vitiligo can also cause premature and permanent greying of hair.

7. Body Hair Turns White

Once vitiligo starts progressing, body hair starts whitening. Vitiligo can also turn a person’s eyebrows and eyelashes white.

8. Hearing Loss

Apart from affecting the skin, vitiligo also affects a person’s auditory functions. Melanocytes are responsible for the pigmentation of our skin, hair, and eyes. They are also present in the inner ear. In case of vitiligo, the immune system mistakenly attacks melanocytes, causing white patches on the skin. If the melanocytes in inner ear are also attacked, it can lead to hearing loss.

9. Eye colour changes

If vitiligo affects the eyes, your eye colour could change. This happens quickly. While rare, vitiligo can also affect a person’s eyesight.