Has anyone else experienced this

[jmysray]

I am experiencing an outbreak after a long time in area I had not had problems with for years. The curious thig was that prior to my elbows flaring up I noticed i had lost all the pigment in those areas, it was totally white,then it happened on my ankles a few weeks later the scaling, but pigment is still missing, has anyone else experienced this, its a first for me.

[Caroline]

Hi jmysray,

I did not experience what you describe nor do I know of people who have.

What I think from your description is that it is a disease called Vitiligo. The melanoma cells in your skin disappear. About .5 - 1.0 percent of the world population has this.
It is said to be an auto immune disorder.
There seems to be no relation between vitiligo and psoriasis. (but who knows)

Treatment is difficult. They have some results with corticosteroids. But most likely it is irreversible.

My grandmother had it on her hands, her fingers were totally white, and halfway her hands you could see the pattern of the melanoma came back again, over there it was browned again.

Check the Internet for more information.

Caroline

[jiml]

It's not something I've heard of myself, in fact it's the opposite with me some of the places I had plaques are missing the pigment, but it never went before the plaques appeared .
But reading Caroline's post it is possibly what she thinks.its worth getting it checked out by a doctor

[Fred]

Not something I've noticed. If you look in our Links page from the menu above you will find "Dermnet Skin Disease Image Atlas" it could take you a long time to find something that looks like it but it could be worth a try.

But a dermatologist is the way to go.

[Kat]

Hmm, interesting.  The loss of pigment could indeed be something different as Caroline said.

But you mention scaling and since you've had psoriasis outbreaks before then you have experience with what that can look like.  I know people have mentioned that when they've cleared they had noticed some changes in skin color, but usually it's more color I think (like a bit more red skin, at least that is true for me in a place or two) not less.  I didn't see where Vitiligo has scaling involved, not like flaky scaling although perhaps a look of scaling where the pigment loss blends with skin without it.  By scaling, I'm guessing you mean the flaky kind though.  Definitely sounds like a dermatologist visit to see what is going on there.

Edited to add: I did see where there can be an infection that causes loss of pigment and scaling.

"Several types of infection can cause pigment loss. Tinea versicolor, due to a fungus, is characterized by dry, scaly patches that may be lighter or darker than the surrounding skin and may itch. It may appear anywhere on the body and may be just a few spots or widespread. Pigment loss can also occur after certain viral infections like chickenpox"

So definitely sounds like something to get checked out.