What Can Cause White Patches on Our Skin?

Skin is the largest organ of our body; like any other organ of our body, skin also suffers from a number of medical conditions. In this article we’ll be discussing about the possible causes of one common skin condition, white skin patches.

Mild eczema: If you have white patches on your skin, it might indicate the occurrence of mild eczema. This type skin disorder is most common among the children. If you get swelling, redness and itchiness around the white patches, the condition might be caused due contact with external irritants. This form of white patches is generally treated using corticosteroid creams and moisturizers.

Yeast infection: The medical term used for yeast infection is tinea versicolor; it can also occur in form of small, white and scaly spots on the skin. The most common sites of occurrence of white patches caused by yeast infections are: back, chest and upper arms. Yeast infections are triggered by a fungus called candida. People, who have oily skin, are at higher risk of getting white patches due to yeast infections. Yeast infections mostly occur during summer months due to the rise in both the environmental humidity and temperature. The physician will prescribe you oral antifungal medications and topical creams as treatment of white patches caused by yeast infection.

Vitiligo and psoriasis: According to medical experts, if you find that the white patch on your skin is getting bigger or multiplying, it might be an indicator of chronic skin disorders like vitiligo and psoriasis.  Psoriasis might begin with white patches, but later results in scaling of the skin areas with the patches; you may also experience severe dryness of the skin accompanied by flaking and cracking of the skin and in severe cases blisters filled with puss might also form. Vitiligo, on the other hand is a skin disorder characterized by diminishing of the skin’s natural pigmentation.