Slightly white patches

Hi I'm of Indian descent and about a month ago I realised that patches on my face (right cheek) were slightly whitish. My GP informs me that it is not white enough to be vitiligo. I am growing a little self conscious of it and would really appreciate a professional opinion as to what the possible diagnoses are.

Many thanks
Mahish

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are there for such depigementation. Firstly, it can be due to tinea versicolor. Tinea versicolor is caused by a fungus that lives in the skin of almost all adults. Factors that can cause the fungus to become more visible include high humidity and immune or hormone abnormalities. Treatment involves topical and oral antifungal medicines.

Second possibility is of vitiligo. It is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Diagnosis can be confirmed by external examination, blood tests to check skin cell count  for melanocytes and biopsy of the skin patches.
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep us posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.