Vitiligo can occur in any part of the skin throughout the body. Most of the white spots are symmetrically distributed. Some of the white spots are arranged along the nerve segments. Mucous membrane areas such as the lips, labia, and glans can also be involved. In some cases, the retina may also be involved.
Initially, they are mostly the size of a fingernail to a coin. They are round or irregular in shape. Some of the white spots are pale white at the beginning. The border is not very clear. As the disease progresses, the border of the white spots will be clear. In some cases, there is black pigment in the middle of the white spots. There is no atrophy or flaking on the surface of the white spots. The hairs in the white spot area also appear white. For example, hair, eyebrows, beard, etc.
Referring to the possible causes of vitiligo, the morphology of the white spots, site distribution and treatment response. Vitiligo can be divided into two types, two categories and two stages.
Two types: common type and segmental type. The common type includes limited solitary, sporadic, generalized, and extremity type. Segmental white spots are one or several patches that follow the course of the skin area innervated by a particular nerve section.
Two categories: Complete and incomplete white spots are classified according to the pigment loss of the white spots. Complete white spots are pure white. Melanocytes are lost in the lesion. There is no ability of melanin production, and medications are taken internally and applied externally, and have no effect. Incomplete white spots, depigmentation is incomplete. There are pigmented spots in the middle of the white spots. The number of melanocytes is reduced or hypofunctional. There is still the ability of melanin regeneration, and drug treatment is effective.
Two stages: progressive stage and stable stage. In the progressive stage, the white spots are enlarged and the borders are blurred. It is easy to produce isomorphic reaction and aggravate the disease after trauma. In the stable stage, the white spots stop developing and the border pigment deepens.
Most of the vitiligo patients have no conscious symptoms. A few of them have itching sensation before or at the same time. The disease develops rapidly in summer and slows down in winter. The white patches can appear or worsen suddenly in the presence of sun exposure, trauma, disease, surgery, etc.