I think I have the skin desease Vitiligo?

Well every year around summer time when I get a slight tan, the white skin at the tip of my fingers and on my thumb becomes visible. I have fairly white skin so you can't really notice these patches unless im tanned, but i;'ve done some research and i think i have vitiligo. I also have white patches on my knees which are fairly big, I've read that these vitiligo blotches can be caused by mild trauma to the skin, and when i was younger i was pretty notorious for scraping up my knees constantly, also back to my finger tips, i used to have a habit of picking at my cuticles and scaring them up pretty bad, so i look at all these factors and i think i have vitiligo. I'm going to see a doctor as soon as i can because i've heard that you can slow or stop the process completely.

i just wanted to ask those of you who have vitiligo, did you have these same minor symptoms at 17 years old? and today is the vitiligo really bad? or did you get treated when you first saw the signs?
thank you

I have vitiligo too. It's supposedly present in ~2% of the world population. I've read that there is a higher incidence in India. So if you're dark-skinned the contrast makes it especially noticeable. But it sounds like you're light-skinned, like me. So it's always more pronounced during the summer, especially on the hands. I'm still self conscious about it and tend to keep my hands hidden during meetings and conversation.

I'm 39 years old and didn't notice it until about 6 years ago. Who knows how long I actually had it before that. 6 years ago was when I first noticed it - on my knuckles. Now it has appeared up the undersides of my arms, and on my feet. So it's slowly spreading.

Evidently it spreads to some common areas: around the fingers, elbows, knees, feet, around the mouth, navel, anus. Hopefully some of those areas people aren't inspecting too closely.

Unfortunately, there's no cure that I'm aware of. That's the bad news. The good news is there's no proven correlation with any other disease. So just because you've got vitiliigo doesn't mean you're doomed with some other ailment. I've read anecdotal reports about correlation with thyroid disorders. But it's not really known. And that's what's frustrating to doctors, who like to have an answer and a treatment for everything. There are common treatments available: topical steroids, UV treatments, and more. But I haven't heard many credible reports of anything actually working.

What's more, there's no direct evidence as to what actually triggers vitiligo. So that's frustrating to doctors too! I've read many suggestions that it's caused by stress. And just about every normal person can come up with something super stressful that's happened to them. So I guess I don't necessarily buy into that cause.

Since anyone can weigh in, my personal BS theory is that we have a genetic predisposition to it - it's hard wired in us select 2%! So we're destined to have it appear. And it's not caused by anything we've done "wrong" -- undue stress, picking at skin, scars, etc.

So my suggestion is to do what your doctor suggests. It certainly can't hurt. And maybe you'll be someone who is able to retard or reverse it. Let the Yahoo! Answers community know about your experience!

There is no "cure", just try to keep most of your skin covered AND use sunscreen.Its really a cosmetic problem, but do keep in mind that it's an auto-immune disease, and is related to other auto-immune diseases, such as thyrodism, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Report It

I was diagnosed with it at 12 yrs old after too many days at the beach in the south. I'm 26 now and although it hasn't gotten any worse, I've lived in the north and try to keep my skin covered. Report It

There are some treatments that can act like a cure-check out www.vitiligosupport.org and look at the FAQ page. Doctors can prescribe medicine, and exposure to special lights and even sunlight can all help repigment vit patches. Report It

There are rumors that Michael Jackson has Vitiligo though I just think he's a freak.