White patches on neck

White patches appearing on any part of the body should be taken seriously, especially white patches on the neck, because this phenomenon is always associated with a serious skin disease, vitiligo. At the beginning, vitiligo may only appear on the neck and gradually spread to other parts of the body. It is best to determine the nature of the white spots as soon as possible.

The white spots of vitiligo may appear anywhere on the patient's body. The probability of white spots appearing in different diseased areas is different. Exposed areas that are prone to friction, such as the neck, are one of the areas where white spots of vitiligo are prone to occur. If you find white spots on your neck, you have reason to suspect that this is also a case of vitiligo.

Never rush to treat vitiligo when you are uncertain. You must determine the condition of vitiligo after discovering white spots so that you can better treat vitiligo.

Compare white spot symptoms and correctly diagnose vitiligo

Since the white spots are suspected to be vitiligo, we need to compare the condition of vitiligo to determine whether the white spots are vitiligo or not: the white spots of vitiligo do not completely disappear in the early stages of the disease, so the white spots are grayish white or milky white, which is close to normal skin color and is not easy to judge. Patients can touch the white spots on their necks. If they are vitiligo white spots, they generally will not turn red or itchy, nor will they show symptoms such as atrophy or desquamation. The skin in the white spot area is smooth and elastic, and various physiological functions are normal.

Vitiligo symptoms

There is no significant difference in gender, and the disease can occur in all age groups, but it is more common in adolescents. The skin lesions are depigmented spots, which are often milky white but can also be light pink, with a smooth surface and no rash. The boundaries of the white spots are clear, the pigmentation of the edges is increased compared to normal skin, and the hair inside the white spots is normal or whitened. The lesions often occur in areas exposed to sunlight and damaged by friction, and are often distributed symmetrically. White spots are often distributed according to nerve segments and arranged in bands. In addition to skin lesions, the mucous membranes of the lips, labia, glans penis and inner foreskin are also often affected.

Most patients have no subjective symptoms, and a small number of patients experience local itching in the affected area before or during the onset of the disease. Vitiligo is often accompanied by other autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes, thyroid disease, adrenal insufficiency, scleroderma, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, etc. The specific classification is as follows:

1. Limited type

(1) Focal type: one or more white spots are confined to one area but not distributed segmentally;

(2) Unilateral type (segmental type): One or more white spots are distributed segmentally and suddenly disappear at the midline;

(3) Mucosal type affects only the mucosa.

2. Scattered

(1) Common type with widespread and scattered white spots;

(2) Facial acrofacial type distributed on the face and limbs;

(3) Mixed distribution: segmental, facial acral and/or common types.

3. Generalized

Complete or almost complete loss of pigmentation.

More than 90% of vitiligo is of the scattered type, and among the remaining vitiligo, localized vitiligo is more common than generalized vitiligo.

According to the degree of pigment loss in the lesions, the disease can be divided into complete and incomplete types. The former has a negative reaction to dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), melanocytes disappear, and the treatment response is poor. The latter reacts positively to DOPA, and the melanocytes do not disappear but only decrease in number, so the chance of cure is high.