SThey are one of the most common skin symptoms. The white spots, in practice, represent a signal that the skin sends us to give us various information, or to report certain illnesses. To interpret these signals with confidence you need always a visit to a dermatologist. However, you can try to understand what are the most common causes that cause so many white spots to appear on the skin.
It’s all the fault of a substance present in the skin
Whether white spots appear depends on the melaninwhich is the substance that promotes tanning but which, especially as age passes, e.gmay not be produced uniformly by melanocytes, the producer cells that can be present in different ways on the skin. This is why some areas of the body tan more. And this is why in others they make spots of a lighter color, or even completely white. Only a dermatologist, however, can establish the reason for this melanin deficiency and understand whether or not it hides a skin disease.
If white spots on the skin appear after sunbathing
After being at the seaside, but also in the sun at the edges of the ski slopes, it may happen that the tan is not uniform and small white spots appear. “Generally, in these cases there is no need to worrybecause it is not a dangerous disease, but a blemish which should not therefore be overlooked” explains Professor Antonino DI Pietro, health director of theVita Cutis Dermoclinical Institute in Milan. «If the white spots have clear edges, are about 5 mm large and appear mainly on the legs and forearms, they may depend on idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis» clarifies the expert. Typically, this problem affects especially women over 40, it occurs when you are tanned and tends to disappear when the skin returns to its normal color. Be careful, though, because the following summer it may reappear againespecially if you don’t protect yourself well from the sun or you expose yourself during the central hours of the day” clarifies the dermatologist.
If it’s a fungus’ fault
It is precisely when you are tanned or begin to lose your tan that you may always notice white spots that appear mostly on the back, torso and neck. They are small in size and can appear first in an area and then perhaps disappear to reappear a short distance away. It is a mushroom that was once called the sea mushroom, because it was thought that it was contracted by going to the beach. «The mushroom is the Pityrosporum orbicolare or Malassezia furfur, but it does not contract in summer because it is already present on our skin” explains Professor Di Pietro.
Only a dermatologist can evaluate the true cause of white spots. (Getty Images)
How to eliminate white “fungal” spots
«Under certain conditions, the fungus begins to reproduce excessively causing a skin infection called ”Pityriasis versicolor”. It is called this because the fungus causes small spots on the skin which are white in summer and become darker again in winter.” To treat these spots, specific antifungal drugs are needed, usually in cream form, which only the dermatologist can prescribe after having seen the overall state of the skin.
Be careful not to confuse the stains!
However, white spots can also be caused by another skin disease: Pityriasis alba. Although the name is similar to Pityriasis versicolor, this is not an infection and is not due to a skin fungus. Pitirasi alba it’s eczema which can also appear in children and causes white spots with a rounded shape and not very defined edges. These spots peel off and they can cause a bit of discomfort if not itching. To treat them you need to hydrate your skin a lot and avoid exposing yourself to the sun unless you have very high protection. It typically goes away on its own, but can return.
If the white spots are very extensive
The white spots more difficult to treat are those due to vitiligo. The causes of this disease are still not well known, we only know that it is due to a strong lack of melanin in some areas of the body. It seems that it can also appear following severe stress, but many hypothesize a leconnection with other autoimmune diseases. These white spots cannot be completely eliminated, in an initial phase they can be controlled with cortisone, Vitamin D derivatives or biological drugs. While when they are more extensive we intervene with i UVB ultraviolet rays.
What if there are a lot of white dots?
It can happen that especially on the legs many tiny white dots appear. «These spots are not due to a lack of melanin, but to hair removal done too abruptly. Very small wounds are caused that cannot be seen with the naked eye” explains Professor Di Pietro, also president of the Isplad International Italian Society of Plastic and Regenerative and Oncologic Dermatology). When they heal, the scabs that have formed fall off and the skin underneath is lighter. And voilà the white dots. «Even hair removal done in an unhygienic way or by wearing tights or leggings that are not perfectly clean immediately afterwards can irritate the freshly depilated skin, favoring the appearance of folliculitis which in turn can cause small white spots. Of a completely different kind, however compared to those due to little melanin” clarifies Professor Di Pietro.
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