White bleach marks on skin

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone else has this?....

I noticed my first bleach mark on my right arm. It is now about 0.5mm but getting bigger. I now have small ones on the fronts of both my legs. I mentioned it to the doctor and they said it could be linked to crohn's, but there is nothing they can do about it. I know there is a condition called vitiligo where your skin does not produce pigment and therefore turns white, is it this or beacuse of Crohn's????


I am currently on Humira and have been for 1 year 9 months.

Previous medication:
Steroids
Azothioptine 100mg
Infliximab

That is a first, I have heard of that sorry can't help you. Sorry for my ignornance but did MJ have something like that? I would see a dermatologist, dont take your doctors word for it.

Anyone ever heard of this? Geez I learn something new everyday!

Yes Michael Jackson did have this, obviously like everything there are different degrees of it and he was a bad case of it........

I just dont think it is Crohns related, could be an isolated case for you, but hey what do I know? I would get it checked out see a derm.

I've got a friend who has vitiligo, and as far as I know she has no other health issues. So sometimes it can just happen. And yes, MJ did have it, and he apparently bleached all his skin so that it would be uniform - normally it's kind of patchy looking.

I googled it and found this: "Vitiligo is a disorder characterized by patchy loss of skin pigmentation due to immune attacks on melanocytes, which can be caused by defects in many genes. Variations in genes that are part of the immune system or part of melanocytes have both been associated with vitiligo. The immune system genes are associated with other autoimmune disorders."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitiligo#Pathogenesis

So it could very well be linked to your Crohn's! Interesting, I never knew that. I've got a couple of weird pale patches in my skin but never thought much of it - maybe I've got a bit of vitiligo too?

Thank you for the link I have also found:

http://www.lifeaftercrohns.com/?p=994

Hmmmm maybe crohn's related who knows. It will be interesting to see if anyone else has this?

That is a an excellent site! Lists a whole whack of stuff. I would see the derm asap. I know I would.

I too have these on my legs, didn't notice until two summers ago when my skin started to tan. They really stood out against the tanned areas. Never gave it much thought. I did have a burning/itching problem with my skin this year though. I could not stand to be in the sun. It was painful to have the sun on my skin. Still have no ideas what caused it though, but as long as I stay out of sun, I have no problems.

Julie, I had something similar happen with the sun on my skin - I went out on a sunny day and was in the sun for maybe 20 minutes, and on one of my arms I developed a red splotch. I thought it might be a sunburn but it really looked more like a rash, and it was itchy and painful. I stayed out of the sun for a few days and it went away. I had forgotten about that until you mentioned it. The weird skin problems we get, huh?

Rottengut and cat- certain meds can make you more sensitive to the sun, in particular steroids. And I think aza too. Are / were you taking anything at the time?

I'm not currently, nor was I at the time, on any meds.

Rebecca: No, at the time I was only taking meds to control certain symptoms (Lomotil for anti-diarrhea, Zofran for anti-nausea, Dicyclomine for anti-cramping) - I wasn't on any steroids or anything else like that. I just started Entocort 9 days ago, and this rash thing happened a month or two ago.

just a thought....they could be stretch marks maybe? from the steroids.

i have loads of them....lower back, thighs, hips, shins (yes shins), ELBOWS lol i mean seriously....and while mine dont really fit the 'bleach' description, im sure it could be likely. depending on skin tone and all that everyone's will show up different colors. mine started out darkish purple/red almost and are now sort of silvery? if that makes sense.

ive also noticed that when i get tan, i have stretch marks show up that i dont notice otherwise.

Kello, I've got stretch marks too, from the growth spurt that I had when I was a teenager. They are much different than the few little pale splotches that may be vitiligo. The stretch marks almost look like scars, the blotchy spots do not. I can see my stretch marks even when I'm not tan at all (Wisconsin winters, ha ha, I'm pale white all over). So I'm sure it's two different things, at least for me it is.

I have to agree with Cat on this one as well. I have stretch marks on my boobies from when the swelled to the size of two watermelons after I had my daughter. She had trouble breast feeding at first and my breasts became extremely engorged. It was unbelievable. I am a normal size A, teeny tiny. Needless to say, the are no longer the perky little girls they used to be, but hey, they've served their purpose.
Anyway, the spots on my legs look nothing like stretch marks.

I have a few on my back and shoulders. My GI said they are a reaction to my sunbathing while taking steroids. He said it was nothing to worry about but to stay out of the sun.

Costas

Hey there! So, I don't think that the Crohn's caused this possible vitiligo, I have had Vitiligo ever since I was in the third grade, and when I was a senior in high school i was diagnosed with Crohn's, I remember my doctors saying that it was common for someone who had one auto immune disease to have/ develop another. Vitiligo is kind of the same idea (in a very roundabout way), the autoimmune system is all kinds of screwy and the body attacks its own skin cells. Nothing to be worried about, if it is Vitiligo, you should probably go see a dermatologist though! Good luck with your endeavors!
Oh, also there is a very distinct difference between stretch marks and vitiligo patches. I have stretch marks too Hahaha

Oh, so I just noticed after making a few researches that the thread was a bit old. Still, I looked and I did a quick check about Vitiligo and Anti-TNF agents and apparently there have been cases of Vitiligo development for some people being on these agents mostly Remicade though. It does seem to be a rare occurrence.

I found this thread through Google.
I'm similar to the Original Poster- I've Crohn's- I've been on Humira for a bit over a year and am developing white bleach marks on my skin. In my case- its on the backs of my hands and on my arms. The hairs growing in these areas- is also turning snow white. Now that its summer time and I have a bit of colour on the backs of my hands- the snow white skin and white hair on the backs of my hands in particular- really stands out.

Just looking at Google- it doesn't appear to be terribly uncommon- but its more that there are random people, mostly Stateside, reporting it occuring (while on Humira)- and then no-one really having any idea what it is.

Its definitely not on the list of side effects I was given for the Humira- though I guess it has to be related somehow.

I was also on steroids (mostly Pred) for most of the last 20 years- alongside a bewildering array of other meds- including Imuran, Pentasa etc etc

I'm sorry that I'm posting in a thread thats a few years old- but I'm genuinely curious- and I think I'm reporting the same thing as the original poster.

Any ideas anyone?

I would let your dermatologist take a look at it. Let us know what happens.

I've never ever seen a dermatologist- must check out how to get a referral here. I'm in a bit of a situation- with my GP, my GI and my Haematologist- all retiring in close succession (they were in the same class in med school- Ireland really is a very small country)- so I have to get new docs. I know I shouldn't be trying to self medicate looking up everything on the internet- I guess I really don't want more surgery- anytime I've gone to the GI- its resulted in yet more resections- if I get yanked off Humira- I'm pretty much at the end of the road from a medication perspective.

Will find a GP and get a referral to a dermatologist anyhow- thanks!