Vitiligo is a difficult skin disease to treat, and the three principles of "early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment" have been emphasized in the treatment. Because the melanocytes in the early vitiligo lesions have not been completely destroyed, after a short time of treatment, it is easy to recover. If the treatment opportunity is missed, the possibility of cure is low, even long-term relapse.
So what are the differences of vitiligo in the early, middle and late stages?
In the early stages of vitiligo, a patient's skin develops some depigmentation, and then white spots appear on the affected area. White spots are milky or white, and the shape is nearly round, oval, or irregular. Some of the new white spots have inflammatory dark red edges.
In the middle stages of vitiligo, there are depigmentation rings around the site of the disease that are slightly darker than white spots and lighter than normal skin. The diffusion ring is a complete ring, and the white spots on the edge of the diffusion ring are strip shaped and spread to the surrounding skin in the shape of rays.
If vitiligo patients are not treated in time, then the disease will develop to an advanced stage, when the onset of vitiligo is more serious. White spots are map shaped. White spots stop developing, no longer increase in number, and no longer expand in area. As the color of the white spots deepens and the boundary between them and the surrounding skin becomes clear, it is easy to recognize. The color of the white spots is porcelain white, and the melanocytes are almost completely lost.
