How Does Vitiligo Spread?
There is no way
to predict exactly how a patch of Vitiligo will spread,
if it will spread at all. Usually, and unfortunately
though the patches do often spread.
The speed of the
spread may vary from person to person. It can also be
consistent in speed over a number of years, be rapid
within a matter of months, or can even be in spurts
following periods of depression or stress.
Vitiligo
commonly initially occurs on sun exposed areas of the
body such as the hands, feet and face. Other common
areas include the groin, armpits, genitals and abdomen.
Generally, there
are 3 acknowledged spread patterns:
1)
Focal spread � depigmentation is limited only
to a few areas.
2)
Segmented pattern � depigmentation occurs on
one side of the body.
3)
Generalized spread � Vitiligo spreads across
different part of the body, this is unfortunately the
case with most people.
There is no
evidence to conclude which patterns occur more
frequently in men and which occur more frequently in
women.
Nor is there any
evidence to link spread patterns and age.
There however is
a small amount of evidence suggesting that it may be
easier to treat focal patterns.
Lastly, it is important to realize that as with the rate of spread, the rate of response to treatment also varies from person to person.
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