When it comes to causes of vitiligo, it becomes a big mystery. Not much information about vitiligo has been discovered yet. Some theories exist about its cause. Vitiligo is a skin pigmentation disorder which produces milky white patches on skin. This skin disorder is a pigment abnormality. Melanocytes (pigment producing cells) get damaged or start malfunctioning as a result white patches or blotches appear on the skin. Generally three main theories have been put forward for the cause of vitiligo.
One theory says that this skin disorder is caused by inheritance. About thirty percent of the vitiligo affected people have a family history with vitiligo. So it is believed that it is a hereditary disorder. Second theory says that vitiligo is caused by other autoimmune disease like thyroid conditions, such as hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland), pernicious anemia (an autoimmune disease which affects your stomach), and diabetes mellitus (a chronic condition that is caused by too much sugar in the blood). Our body starts producing antibodies and these antibodies starts destructing melanocytes as a result de-pigmentation appears but it is not known that antibodies are the effect or cause of vitiligo.
The third theory says that this skin disorder is triggered by a single event such severe physical or metal trauma. According to another explanation the cause of vitiligo is a nerve disorder, because nerve damage is related with the loss of pigment in the area of skin which served by that nerve.
The intensity of vitiligo differs with each individual. People with light complexion may experience this skin disorder at a later stage whereas people with darker complexion may notice this disease at an earlier stage. It is more noticeable in people with a darker complexion because of the major difference in color.
Vitiligo is more noticeable in summers because the tanning makes obvious the contrast of the affected skin and sun tanned skin. In some severe cases pigment may get completely and that condition is known universal vitiligo.
