How to cure white patches on face in a young individual? – Dr. Rasya Dixit

When we look at white patches on the face of young boys and girls there are many things that could be causing it. Though most people believe it is due to some vitamin deficiencies skin doctors tend to differ. Most commonly we see conditions like p alba. This is a condition in young boys and girls who have more of an allergy tendency, few white spots which kind of goes away and comes again more prominent during winters. Other conditions which can be associated is polymorphous light eruption. This is due to sun allergy. So this white spot turns more into red on exposure to the sun and can be a little itchy. The other condition which is more common nowadays is use of lot of skin lightening creams which causes patchy skin lightening. So if you are using a skin lightening cream stop using it. Most people contact us because they are worried that this white patch is related to any vitiligo or leukoderma like skin conditions, but most often it is not. How doctor’s make diagnosis is by examining skin and making sure that there is no other conditions before we start treatment. If you want to treat it at home make sure that you are avoiding any chemical based face washes or creams and use something which is pH balanced, which is hypoallergic facewash as well as use a moisturiser and a broad spectrum sunscreen twice a day. These patches usually take about a week or month to fade and if you are not better in 3 weeks or a month it is better to see a dermatologist.