Vitiligo

[Dunce]

Hey me and my sister have light coloured blotches on both of our backs... it spread from nothing pretty quickly to cover out whole back.
I looked it up and I was certain it was vitiligo...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitiligo
But it's supposed to spread fast, but It hasnt spread further than my back, and it's been six months since I realised it had gotten really big.
It doesn't seem as white as it does in these pictures.. it's just paler than my normal skin colour...
Opinions?
Does it sound serious?

[eatthis9999]

Never identify an illness yourself your usualy wrong if your about 15 you get back acne which spreads quick and requires a cream to get rid off. That Simple. If you do not agree please consult your doctor

[Dunce]

I didnt say I have it, I was asking if others think I may have it or if others have had anything similar.
I'm not 15, and I know the difference between this and acne :/

[eatthis9999]

i dont think you understand what i mean you get a variation on the acne on the back so i know people who say yuck i have something wrong with my back me doing health advice i say giv us a look, they say what do i do, buy some spot cream, then they say what is it seriously and people realy dont know what back acne is it can cause the skin to go lighter which is were the confusion is aswell as burning. but i would doubt the chances of it being vitiligo

[Fact]

Hey me and my sister have light coloured blotches on both of our backs... it spread from nothing pretty quickly to cover out whole back.
I looked it up and I was certain it was vitiligo...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitiligo
But it's supposed to spread fast, but It hasnt spread further than my back, and it's been six months since I realised it had gotten really big.
It doesn't seem as white as it does in these pictures.. it's just paler than my normal skin colour...
Opinions?
Does it sound serious?

I had something like this on my neck and back. My patches weren't particularly big, but they started off small and grew in size.
I went to the doctor because my mother was concerned it was vitiligo. Like you described, the patches aren't extremely white? More like a creamy colour?

Anyway, the doctor gave me a course of cream (I can't remember exactly what he said, it was quite a few years ago). The patches decreased in size by a lot, the ones on my back have gone completely but the one on my neck still shows a little.

Perhaps it's something similar to what I had? It wasn't anything serious in that it didn't damage my health, but it's worth going to get it checked out if you want it sorted.

Never identify an illness yourself your usualy wrong if your about 15 you get back acne which spreads quick and requires a cream to get rid off. That Simple. If you do not agree please consult your doctor

People don't come here to get professional help, they come to seek general advice.

[eatthis9999]

i was saying that the best thing to do is not to look up what you think it is cause its usualy wrong and when you go see the GP they will get annoyed you are telling them what u think it is as it puts off there idea just leave it to doctors and sport and health advisors like me

[Fact]

i was saying that the best thing to do is not to look up what you think it is cause its usualy wrong and when you go see the GP they will get annoyed you are telling them what u think it is as it puts off there idea just leave it to doctors and sport and health advisors like me

I would agree with you, except for the fact that three out of four of my grandparents all had no access or knowledge to self diagnose. All three of them repeatedly went to the doctors for advice, and all their doctors shoved it off as being nothing. Then, all three of them turned out to have cancer. The only way this was found out was my mother using her initiative and doing some reading around their symptoms and pushing for answers.

Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone who looks up answers gets it right every time, because that's far from true. However, that still doesn't mean that people shouldn't do some research if they have a condition they're concerned about. Some symptoms carry a higher degree of risk than others, so why shouldn't people utilise their resources and get a rough idea of what's wrong with them?

[eatthis9999]

sometimes and all people in my situation say dont check it will leadto stress and Anger at doctors who usualy will get it corect but the public dont exept it

[Fourth Dimension]

idk if you do or not maybe ask your doctor oh and a lil fun fact thats what the late great Michael jackson had thats why he had his skin fully bleached

[Donkey]

I would agree with you, except for the fact that three out of four of my grandparents all had no access or knowledge to self diagnose. All three of them repeatedly went to the doctors for advice, and all their doctors shoved it off as being nothing. Then, all three of them turned out to have cancer. The only way this was found out was my mother using her initiative and doing some reading around their symptoms and pushing for answers.

Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone who looks up answers gets it right every time, because that's far from true. However, that still doesn't mean that people shouldn't do some research if they have a condition they're concerned about. Some symptoms carry a higher degree of risk than others, so why shouldn't people utilise their resources and get a rough idea of what's wrong with them?
So your grandparents had a bad doctor, self diagnosis is still very rough around the edges. Symptoms such as dizziness, hunger, difficulty sleeping or tiredness are always common symptoms for many illnesses (and life in general) and are almost always listed on self diagnosis websites for every single illness. People get worked up for no reason, whereas a doctor would be able to do proper checks and see the real symptoms. You don't become a medical doctor easily, there is a lot of training and you still should, at the end of the day, trust them.

To the OP, go to a doctor - could be anything, like most of the skin stuff we get here it's all very similar and there's no real guaranteed self diagnosis ever possible. It is possible it will spread out more though, so see a doctor ASAP as the others have said.

[Fact]

So your grandparents had a bad doctor, self diagnosis is still very rough around the edges. Symptoms such as dizziness, hunger, difficulty sleeping or tiredness are always common symptoms for many illnesses (and life in general) and are almost always listed on self diagnosis websites for every single illness. People get worked up for no reason, whereas a doctor would be able to do proper checks and see the real symptoms. You don't become a medical doctor easily, there is a lot of training and you still should, at the end of the day, trust them.

I agreed that self diagnosis is by no means likely to be correct and that people do often think the worst of their symptoms, but simply pointing out the fact that doctors do get serious things wrong. And it wasn't one doctor, it was three separate doctors at three separate practises, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered mentioning because it'd be obvious if it was 1 doctor then it'd be that 1 doctor at fault.


To the OP, go to a doctor - could be anything, like most of the skin stuff we get here it's all very similar and there's no real guaranteed self diagnosis ever possible. It is possible it will spread out more though, so see a doctor ASAP as the others have said.

Agree with this also. The quicker you get to a doctor, the quicker you'll get a professional medical opinion.

[Donkey]

I agreed that self diagnosis is by no means likely to be correct and that people do often think the worst of their symptoms, but simply pointing out the fact that doctors do get serious things wrong. And it wasn't one doctor, it was three separate doctors at three separate practises, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered mentioning because it'd be obvious if it was 1 doctor then it'd be that 1 doctor at fault.
The OP can always get a fourth opinion by your lesson :lol:

[Fact]

The OP can always get a fourth opinion by your lesson :lol:

I guess ^^

[Dimitri]

I would highly suggest that you consult with a Dermatologist.

Vitiligo causes white patches on your skin. It can also affect your eyes, mouth and nose. It occurs when the cells that give your skin its color are destroyed. No one knows what destroys them. It is more common in people with autoimmune diseases, and it might run in families. It usually starts before age 40.

The white patches are more common where your skin is exposed to the sun. In some cases, the patches spread. Vitiligo can cause your hair to gray early. If you have dark skin, you may lose color inside your mouth.

Using sunscreen will help protect your skin, and cosmetics can cover up the patches. Treatments for vitiligo include medicines, light therapy and surgery. Not every treatment is right for everyone. Many have side effects. Some take a long time. Some do not always work.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitiligo.html ~ NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases