Vitiligo In Children - Causes, Symptoms And Treatment Of Vitiligo In Children

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Causes, symptoms and treatment of vitiligo in children

Content:

• Symptoms of Vitiligo in Children
• Causes of vitiligo in children
• Main types
• Diagnosis of vitiligo in children
• Vitiligo treatment in children

Vitiligo is a skin disease characterized by the appearance of foci of depigmentation on the body of a child. According to statistics, the incidence of vitiligo in children depends on their age group, the presence of a corresponding heredity and trigger factors for the development of the disease. Cases of registration of this disease in newborns are rare, usually vitiligo debuts in adolescence.

The formation of skin tone depends on the level of melanin pigment, which is normally produced in human skin over almost the entire body area. The exceptions are the palmar surfaces of the hands and the plantar surfaces of the feet - they do not contain melanocyte cells in representatives of any race.

With insufficient production of melanin, light areas of the skin are formed, which in their color are radically different from normal pigmentation and represent a serious cosmetic defect.

Symptoms of Vitiligo in Children

This skin pathology is characterized by gradual development and long-term course. Depigmentation lesions are preceded by the appearance of small pink spots on the skin, which eventually change their color in favor of a milky white color.

As the child grows up, the foci of depigmentation increase and take on a different shape. In young children, such spots are usually oval or rounded, less often in the form of a blot.

If the foci of vitiligo are located in the open areas of the child's body, then under the influence of sunlight, additional symptoms may appear, such as peeling, thickening of the skin in the depigmentation zone, redness and an increase in local temperature. In addition, the spots stand out brighter against the background of tanning.

Causes of vitiligo in children

The true causes of vitiligo in children are not fully established, but there are a number of factors that play an important role in the formation and development of this skin pathology.

The provoking factors include:

• Hereditary predisposition;
• Previously transferred infectious diseases;
• The presence of helminthic invasions in the child's body;
• Weakening of the body's defenses;
• Impact of stress and unfavorable ecology.

It is possible to prove or refute the influence of one of the above factors only after carrying out appropriate diagnostic measures.

Types of children's vitiligo

The type of vitiligo directly depends on the nature of the distribution of the foci of depigmentation on the child's body. The main types of this skin disease will be presented below.

Generalized type of vitiligo, type "A"

It is subdivided into the following forms:

• Acrofacial, which is characterized by damage to the distal parts of the limbs (fingers and toes, wrists);
• Universal, with extensive skin lesions (about 80%). This is the rarest form of vitiligo in children;
• Vulgar (ordinary) - foci are located on two or more parts of the body;
• Mixed.

The generalized form of vitiligo is characterized by a long course.

Localized type of vitiligo, type "B"

It is conventionally divided into the following forms:

• Focal. It is characterized by the location of foci of depigmentation on one side of the body. This type of disease is not prone to progression and spread;
• Zosteriform. This is a grouping of many small foci of vitiligo in one area of the skin, as with herpes Zoster;
• Mucous. Depigmented foci are located on the mucous membrane in the oral cavity and on the external genitalia;
• Segmental. The spots are localized along the nerves or plexuses.

Diagnosis of vitiligo in children

When making a diagnosis, there should be no difficulties due to the characteristic clinical picture of the disease. It is better to entrust the diagnosis to a dermatologist, who, after a visual examination of the child's skin, will give his medical opinion. In some cases, a Wood lamp can be used, with which it is possible to detect lesions that are invisible during a normal examination.

Vitiligo treatment in children

The key point in the treatment of children's vitiligo is the complete restoration of the impaired metabolism in the child's body, because usually it is the metabolic failure that is the reason for the insufficient production of the skin pigment melanin. To achieve maximum effect, it is recommended to use an integrated approach. The main methods of treating this skin pathology will be presented below.

Photosensitizing therapy

Photosensitizing therapy is aimed at limiting the exposure to direct sunlight on the depigmented areas of the child's skin. Sunscreens and other special cosmetic preparations are used as therapeutic agents.

Symptomatic therapy

Symptomatic therapy consists in the maximum restoration of the lost pigment-forming function of the child's skin.

For this purpose, the following methods are used:

• Short-term topical application of corticosteroids (about two months in a row);
• Local exposure to photosensitizing agents (Metoksalen), which restore pigmentation in the affected skin areas;
• For generalized vitiligo, general photochemotherapy is used;
• The use of herbal remedies as an adjunct to the main methods of therapy.

To reduce the severity of a cosmetic defect, skin whitening procedures are used, which are aimed at eliminating the contrast between healthy skin and depigmentation areas.

Medication also plays an important role in the treatment of vitiligo in children. It must be combined with photochemotherapy.

Treatment with pharmaceuticals includes the following points:

• The use of multivitamin and mineral complexes. This is especially true for children with a total copper deficiency in the body. In such cases, it is possible to additionally prescribe electrophoresis with copper preparations, which is used in areas of depigmentation;
• If the cause of vitiligo in a child is endocrine disorders, then it is advisable to carry out hormonal therapy under the strict supervision of an endocrinologist;
• Appointment of immunocorrecting drugs.
• Use of antioxidants (vitamin E).

In case of ineffectiveness of conservative treatment, it is possible to carry out surgical intervention, but only if the depigmentation foci are locally located.

On the subject: 10 most effective folk remedies in the treatment of vitiligo

Surgery

The main options for the surgical treatment of vitiligo in children include:

• Autoplasty (replacement of the affected lesions with healthy skin flaps);
• Use of tissue genetic engineering;
• Transplant of cultured epidermis;
• Transplant of your own melanocytes;
• Transplantation of donor melanocytes.

The author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna | Pediatrician

Education: Diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received at the Volgograd State Medical University. A specialist certificate was immediately received in 2014.