Leucoderma: Its Symptoms and Reasons
Why does it occur?
Melaninis is a pigment that is known for providing skin its characteristic natural color.
Causes of leucoderma is specially due to loss of this pigment in the skin, which happens because of destruction of pigment-forming cells known as melanocytes. Though, vitiligo affects everyone equally, it is more noticeable in dark-skinned people. A rapid increase in the number of cases suffering from Leucoderma in the country is a major concern. Big cities like Delhi have specialist doctors and clinics where one can get proper treatment to overcome causes of leucoderma, but there are places far from any penetration of such clinics or doctors.
How and when it occurs?
It has been researched and observed that vitiligo develops in earlyage; it usually is seen in ages between 10 and 30 years. Both men and women are equally likely to develop vitiligo, and it is believed that over ninety percentof those affected will develop the disorder before age 40. Vitiligo may be hereditary, which means it can run into families. A leucoderma specialist in Delhi says €Those having a family history of vitiligo or have a problem of premature graying of the hair are likely and risked to develop vitiligo.€
There are several other risk factors that can result or increase the probability of developing vitiligo, such as people having autoimmune diseases are likely to get affected more easily, people having autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) too are vastly affected by this skin disorder. Today, Vitiligo affects almost 1-2% of America's overall populationand according to a survey, it is estimated that almost 2 to 4 million Americans have the condition.
Symptoms
Vitiligo symptoms include small white patches that happen due to pigment loss in several areas of the skin. This initial white patchappearance can be followed by stable period without any progression. Vitiligo generally affects the skin that comes in direct contact with sunlight, body folds (such as armpits), and sites of injury, areas around moles, or areas around body orifices (openings).