There are small white spots on the child's forehead

Generally speaking, if white spots grow on a child's forehead, try not to ignore them, because many skin diseases occur in childhood. Once they occur, lifelong medication may be required. After all, there is no effective method that can quickly achieve treatment results. Generally, this situation occurs in children due to genetics, which is very common.

The cause of this disease is still unclear. Recent studies have shown that this is related to the following factors:

1. Genetic theory

Vitiligo can occur in twins and families, indicating that heredity plays an important role in the onset of vitiligo. Studies have shown that vitiligo has incomplete penetrance and there are multiple pathogenic sites on the gene.

2. Autoimmunity theory

Vitiligo can be combined with autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disease, diabetes, chronic adrenal insufficiency, pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, malignant melanoma, etc. Specific antibodies to various organs can also be detected in the serum, such as anti-thyroid antibodies, anti-gastric parietal cell antibodies, anti-adrenal gland antibodies, anti-parathyroid antibodies, anti-smooth muscle antibodies, anti-melanocyte antibodies, etc.

3. Psychological and neurochemical theory

Mental factors are closely related to the onset of vitiligo. Most patients suffer from mental trauma, excessive tension, depression or frustration during the onset or development of skin lesions. The degeneration of nerve endings in the white spots also supports the neurochemical theory.

4. Melanocyte self-destruction theory

Vitiligo patients can produce antibodies and T lymphocytes in their bodies, indicating that the immune response may lead to the destruction of melanocytes. Toxic melanin precursors synthesized by the cells themselves and certain chemicals that cause skin depigmentation may also have a selective destructive effect on melanocytes.

5. Trace element deficiency theory

The levels of copper or ceruloplasmin in the blood and skin of vitiligo patients are reduced, resulting in reduced tyrosinase activity, thus affecting the metabolism of melanin.

6. Other factors

Trauma, sun exposure and some photosensitive drugs can also induce vitiligo.

There is no significant difference in gender, and the disease can occur in all age groups, but it is more common in adolescents. The skin lesions are depigmented spots, which are often milky white but can also be light pink, with a smooth surface and no rash. The boundaries of the white spots are clear, the pigmentation of the edges is increased compared to normal skin, and the hair inside the white spots is normal or whitened. The lesions often occur in areas exposed to sunlight and damaged by friction, and are often distributed symmetrically. White spots are often distributed according to nerve segments and arranged in bands. In addition to skin lesions, the mucous membranes of the lips, labia, glans penis and inner foreskin are also often affected.