Vitiligo

My brother-in-law has vitiligo and as a child he used plenty of sunscreen which helped to keep it from looking more pronounced during the summer months. He also tried dermablend but thats make-up and made him feel very uncomfortable (the whole guy wearing make-up thing). What he has used for sometime now and is working rather well is a topical steriod. It takes a few months but he says its the best thing so far for him. They do make a mild cream for children under 10.

Where You Can Get More Information About Vitiligo:

American Academy of Dermatology
P.O. Box 4014
Schaumburg, IL 60168-4014
Phone: ###-###-#### or
888-462-DERM (3376) (free of charge)
Fax: ###-###-####
www.aad.org

The academy is the national organization for dermatology. It is dedicated to achieving the highest quality of dermatologic care for everyone. The academy produces patient information on vitiligo. It can also provide referrals to dermatologists.

National Vitiligo Foundation
700 Olympic Plaza Circle, Suite 404
Tyler, TX 75701
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
E-mail: ____@____.com
www.nvfi.org/index.html

The foundation strives to locate, inform, and counsel vitiligo patients and their families; to increase public awareness and concern for the vitiligo patient; to broaden the concern for the patient within the medical community; and to encourage, promote, and fund increased scientific and clinical research on the cause, treatment, and ultimate cure.

Hope this information helps and good luck!

I have had vitiligo since I was a child. It is on the back of my leg. I am a user of sunscren, but haven't always been. Yes, the spots are more noticable at the end of summer, but I've never been all that bothered with it. There was a time in my life, mid teens, when I used to make excuses about the spots, but all it did was draw attention to something not many people noticed anyway. I would suggest sunscreen, but then again every child should use sunscreen. I never received a bad burn because of it, but keeping the surrounding skin light as possible makes it blend more. I suppose the most important advise I have for you is to not make a big deal of it. The more you talk about it around him, the more he will feel different, I know from experience!

Definitely keep him out of the sun as much as possible. Always have him wear the highest SPF possible. I was diagnosed with vitiligo 2 years ago. It is basically the skin randomly losing it's pigmentation. Without this pigment, those areas are far more succeptable to skin cancer. I usually wear SPF 60. In addition to areas on my body, I have some patches on my face, so from a comsmetic standpoint, you want to wear the sun block to minimize the difference between the areas that have lost pigmentation, and those that are still "normal". As far as I know, you don't outgrow the condition, it in fact progresses with age. Luckily, it is a very slow progressing disease....some people don't notice new patches for years. But some cases are mild & not very noticeable...hopefully this is the case for your son. I would contact a dermatologist to ask about treatments. I was perscribed a topical steroid, but never used it because I was nursing at the time, and once I was done nursing my daughter, I was already pregnant with my son (you're not supposed to use it under either circumstance...nursing or preg.) So I really don't know how effective treatments are.
Here is a website that may help you with the information you want: www.vitiligosupport.org
I believe they even have a special section regarding children. Please also check out their FAQ section...it's really very helpful.
Sorry this was such a wordy response, really but I hope it helps you.

Allow me to preface what I am about to say with this statement: I am a retired Physicians Assistant Certified in both PA & AK. My own thoughts on this will appear in ().

In the Journal of the American Medical Association, Issue dated 2/17/03, it states the following.
Vitiligo is a dermatological condition characterized by the appearance of white patches of skin on different parts of the body as a result of the destruction of the cells that make pigment (melanocytes). This may vary from one or two white spots on the skin to large areas of depigmentation. Vitiligo is not contagious. It seems to occur more often among people who have certain autoimmune diseases. For some people, although not for everyone, the depigmentation is progressive.

(it might be a wise decision to have your son checked by someone who deals in autoimmune diseases, your pediatrician should be able to help you find someone in your area, note that for only SOME people is it progressive. There are many resources available to you if you let me know what state you are in I can send you a resource group near you.)
I know this is not a great help to you now, but there are things that can be done once your son is older if it begins to bother him. I agree full heartedly with those who have stated to use sunscreen on him at all times, even through the winter months as the sun is out then too. This should be done anyway, but in your son's case it will keep the vitiligo from being as noticeable. When your son is older if it bothers him, he can have cosmetic tattooing done to blend the skin tones.
Right now, I would concentrate on being positive that this is not a symptom of something dealing with his autoimmune system.
Because in the end it is a cosmetic issue that will probably not bother him at all unless it progresses. Then he might want to seek further medical treatment. There are new medications out now that produce melanin which is what is missing in the lighter areas of your sons skin. Talk to your Doctor about them, I am pretty sure he is still to young for them but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I hope that this has helped you somewhat, if you are interested in the resource groups, again just message me. Please remind me that you need resource groups for Vitiligo and what state you are in.
Best of everything, J. T