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autoimmune⚑ High burden in India

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a disorder that causes patches of skin to lose pigment or color; these vary in size and can appear anywhere on the body. The disorder is thought to be caused by system changes with potential factors. It can be brought on by regional environmental risk factors, especially early in life, as well as sun or chemical exposure, stress, and chronic physical . The most common form, nonsegmental vitiligo, tends to affect more skin over time; potential treatments include topical medications and light therapy.

Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.

Symptoms — what it feels like

  • ·Patches of white skin

Causes — why it happens

  • ·Unknown

How it's found

  • ·

Treatment

  • ·Sunscreen, makeup, topical , phototherapy
Did you know?
White skin patches (safed daag) are not leprosy and not contagious
Vitiligo is only a loss of pigment - normal sensation, no infection; no food combination such as fish-with-milk causes it.
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Source: NHS

The sections below are general education drawn from public guidelines (NHS, Mayo, CPIC, WHO, ICMR). They are not individually reviewed by a clinician and are not medical advice — always talk to a doctor about your own health.

Myths vs facts

✕Vitiligo (safed daag, white patches) is contagious — you can catch it by touching the person or sharing their food.
✓Vitiligo is completely non-contagious. It cannot spread through touch, food, water, sharing clothes or living together. It happens when the cells that give skin its colour () stop working.The false idea that white patches 'spread by contact' leads to painful social rejection of people who are perfectly healthy.
✕White patches on the skin are an early sign of leprosy.
✓Vitiligo is NOT leprosy. Vitiligo patches are only a loss of colour — the skin feels completely normal, with no numbness and no . Leprosy patches, by contrast, often have loss of sensation. They are entirely different conditions.Confusing vitiligo with leprosy causes some of the worst stigma in India, though the two have nothing in common.
✕Vitiligo is caused by eating fish with milk, or by other 'wrong' food combinations.
✓There is no scientific evidence that any food combination causes vitiligo. It is understood to be an condition, where the body's own defence system affects the pigment-making cells. Diet does not cause it.Chasing food-based 'causes' spreads guilt and distracts from simply understanding and, where wanted, treating the condition.
✕Vitiligo is a punishment for past sins and makes a person unfit for marriage.
✓Vitiligo is only a change in skin colour. It does not affect a person's health, intelligence, fertility, or ability to study, work or marry. It is not a curse. Treatments can help restore or even out colour, but the biggest harm from vitiligo is social stigma, not the condition itself.In India, white patches carry heavy marriage and social stigma, causing psychological distress far greater than any physical effect.
NHS — Vitiligo ↗

More in Skin

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Plain-language summary adapted from Wikipedia. Not medical advice.