Vitiligo, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Vitiligo is a medical skin disorder in which there is a loss of brown color (pigment) from areas of skin, leading to irregular white spots on the skin.
Vitiligo is a skin disorder which presents as white spots or patches on the skin.
A simple treatment is by camouflage with cosmetics.
It is not contagious.
The cause of Vitiligo is not known.
1. Vitiligo appears to happen when immune cells destroy the cells that produce brown pigment (melanocytes).
Many people with Vitiligo may have related auto immune diseases:
1. Addison disease
2. Hyperthyroidism
3. Pernicious anemia
Autoimmune conditions are disorders where the body’s own cells attack its cells in this case the skin pigmented cells.
There is a progressive disappearance of the pigment melanin that gives the skin color.
The loss of melanin happens when the melanocytes (pigment cells) are damaged and melanin cannot be produced.
The most likely cause is that it is one of the autoimmune disorders in which the body attacks and destroys its own tissues in this case the pigment producing cells.
2. It often occurs from a decrease or loss of the normal cells (melanocytes) that are responsible for the production of pigment (melanin) in the skin.
If the melanocytes are unable to produce melanin, or if their number decreases, white, sharply-bordered patches of different shapes and sizes will develop on otherwise normal skin.
Vitiligo can happen on any portion of the skin surface where pigment cells are present but more frequently involves the exposed parts the face, neck, and backs of the hands.
In severe cases the loss of pigment can extend over the entire body.
The hairs in these de-pigmented patches can also turn white.
When the pigment returns, it returns first in and around these hairs.
3. The condition appears to run in families.
Most of the people affected are in good health.
4. Sometimes vitiligo occurs in association with such conditions as pernicious anemia, thyroid disease, diabetes, and disorders of the adrenal glands.
5. Sunburn or severe emotional stress.
6. Vitiligo is not a sign of cancer.
7. The cosmetic as well as the psychological effects are worse for those with darker skins because the condition is very obvious against a dark skin background.
8. Vitiligo is normally a progressive and relentless disease.
Rarely do people with the condition regain their color spontaneously.
Vitiligo may appear at any age.
However, it begins before the age of 20 in about half of cases.
There is a higher rate of the condition in some families.
There is some genetic factor involved and vitiligo may occur in the family.
About 1 in 5 affected people has some other family member who is also afflicted.
It involves about 1% of the population and is more frequent among younger patients.
50% of people who form this disease suffer some pigment loss before the age of 20 yrs.
Vitiligo is not infectious and a person cannot catch it from affected people.
Men and women are equally affected.
It is not more frequent in any racial or ethnic groups.
People with vitiligo are generally well.
Vitiligo is not sore or itchy.
The appearance of the skin can be distressing, if the face or the hands are affected.
There is no natural protection from the sun in involved areas of skin.
Skin affected by vitiligo burns much more easily than normal skin if exposed to sunlight.
Appearances of Vitiligo are:
1. White spots or patches on the skin
2. The hair in the vitiligo patch may be white in color.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Vitiligo
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Leukoplakia
Chapter 8 Hypo-pigmentation of Skin
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Dec 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370495795

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Vitiligo,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Vitiligo, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions or in vernacular terms

(What You need to treat Vitiligo)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://ken-med.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Vitiligo

Many patients with vitiligo are fearful that they have a serious condition because of the change of the color of their skin.

What is Vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a medical skin disorder in which there is a loss of brown color (pigment) from areas of skin, leading to irregular white spots on the skin.

Vitiligo is a skin disorder which presents as white spots or patches on the skin.

A simple treatment is by camouflage with cosmetics.

It is not contagious.

What is the cause of Vitiligo?

The cause of Vitiligo is not known.

1. Vitiligo appears to happen when immune cells destroy the cells that produce brown pigment (melanocytes).

Many people with Vitiligo may have related auto immune diseases:

1. Addison disease

2. Hyperthyroidism

3. Pernicious anemia

Autoimmune conditions are disorders where the body’s own cells attack its cells in this case the skin pigmented cells.

There is a progressive