Vitiligo FAQs
Vitiligo Questions and Answers
Is vitiligo contagious?
Vitiligo is neither infectious nor contagious, it cannot be transmitted from the affected person to other healthy people through physical or other contact or through body fluids, and its manifestation is not due to poor medical treatment or poor personal hygiene.
The disease is in principle asymptomatic, with only a few exceptions, where a mild itching sensation is manifested in the areas where vitiligo is likely to appear next.
Who is affected by vitiligo?
Scientists do know that some people are genetically predisposed to a specific group of autoimmune disorders – including generalized vitiligo – but they don’t know who or why. It doesn’t really help to know that you may be “at risk” of developing a disease – because you never know if or when you will develop it or what might cause it.
Does vitiligo spread?
The course of vitiligo can vary significantly from one person to another.
For a sufficient number of patients, vitiligo progresses for 3-4 years and then it improves, with one or two persisting lesions while the remaining ones disappear.
For some patients, the skin disorder is characterized by periods of stability and then it suddenly begins to progress. There are, however, a small number of patients whose dark skin and hair are totally depigmented within a period of months.
The natural course of vitiligo is truly unpredictable but usually progressive.
How quickly can vitiligo spread?
Generalized vitiligo spreads relatively quickly in 73% of cases and regression is reported in 1.3%.
Local or focal vitiligo usually stops progressing 1 to 2 years after its first manifestation.
This skin condition may develop quickly and universally, while it is equally possible that a considerable period of time may elapse without the manifestation of new white patches.
Vitiligo progression could be halted in 85% of cases with the use of strong systemic corticosteroids, but because of the possible side effects, the decision should only be made by qualified dermatologists after thorough evaluation.
Vitiligo and hearing loss: is there a connection?
Briefly speaking, NO. Recent research shows that there is no association between any degree of skin pigmentation and the degree of hearing loss in vitiligo patients.
The results of this study indicated that there is no significant correlation between sex, age, skin involvement percentage, disease duration, thyroid function, and family history with conductive or sensorineural hearing loss.
Should someone with vitiligo get a tattoo?
It would be preferable for vitiligo patients to avoid getting tattoos. In support of the aforementioned argument, we have published a scientific article citing all the negative effects of tattoos in cases of vitiligo, based on scientific evidence.