Is it vitiligo if there are white spots on the child's belly?

Many parents will find some white spots on their children's belly. At this time, parents need to observe carefully and gently rub the white spots to see if there is any scale falling off or redness of the skin. If the skin is smooth, white or milky white, and there are signs of spreading, then parents need to pay attention, because this situation may be vitiligo. However, the specific disease still needs to be discovered through examination.

What diseases can cause white spots on the child's belly?

1. Anemic nevus

It is a localized hypopigmented macule, usually unilaterally distributed or confined to a certain area. It occurs after birth or soon after, and rarely continues to expand afterwards. The color is hypopigmentation rather than depigmentation. When rubbed hard, the local area does not turn red, while the surrounding normal skin turns red. After pressure examination with a glass slide, the edge of the lesion becomes more blurred.

2. Mottled disease

It is an autosomal dominant genetic disease. It differs from vitiligo in that it has a clear family history and skin lesions are present at birth, most commonly on the forehead, combined with white hair. The white spots are often triangular or diamond-shaped. Rashes may also occur on the chest, abdomen, and proximal limbs. There are often dot-shaped normal pigment islands in the white spots. Some patients may also have other developmental abnormalities.

So there are many types of white spots, but it doesn’t mean that as long as you see white spots, you have vitiligo. Vitiligo, pityriasis versicolor, pityriasis alba, albinism, etc. all manifest as white spots. The causes and treatments of different white spots are different. It is recommended to take your child to a professional hospital for examination and diagnosis and symptomatic treatment.

How to treat vitiligo?

Drug treatment

(1) Oral administration of psoralen and its derivatives such as methoxsalen followed by exposure to ultraviolet light.

(2) Long-term use of large doses of vitamins such as B vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin P.

(3) Treatment can include taking copper-containing drugs, such as 0.5% copper sulfate solution orally.

(4) Oral immunomodulatory agent levamisole, intramuscular injection of freeze-dried BCG, oral administration of bovine placenta, etc.

(5) Skin irritants are applied topically to cause inflammation of the skin and promote pigmentation. Commonly used ones include 30% psoralea corylifolia tincture, nitrogen mustard alcohol, phenol (pure carbolic acid), 25% to 50% trichloroacetic acid, and blister beetle tincture. This method is only suitable for small skin lesions, and blisters may appear on the lesions after application.

(6) Corticosteroids: Various corticosteroids such as beclomethasone dipropionate ointment, halometasone cream, triamcinolone urea ointment, etc. are used for local packing treatment.