Glossary for Whitening

Medical terms related to Whitening or mentioned in this section include:

• Albinism: A congenital hereditary condition where the patient has little or no melanin pigment resulting in pale skin, whit hair, pink eyes, nystagmus, astigmatism and photophobia. Sufferers face a high risk of extreme sunburn, skin cancer and actinic dermatitis.
• Albinism deafness syndrome: A rare syndrome characterized by the association of deafness with partial albinism involving patches of absent pigmentation in the skin and hair. The disorder is inherited in a X-linked manner.
• Anemia: Reduced red blood cells in the blood
• Athlete's foot: A condition which is characterized by a chronic superificial infection of the foot caused by a fungi
• Burning symptoms: Any burning or burn-like sensations.
• Burns: Injury from burns and scalds.
• Candidiasis familial chronic mucocutaneous, autosomal dominant, with thyroid disease: A dominantly inherited condition characterized by poor immunity to fungal infections (particularly those caused by Candida albicans) as will as thyroid disease. Persistent fungal infections tend to affect the nails, skin or mucous membranes. The degree of severity is variable with some cases leading to fugal infection of the brain which is usually fatal.
• Chediak-Higashi Syndrome: An inherited immune system disorder resulting in frequent infections, lack of skin and eye pigmentation, neurological diseases and early death.
• Cowden's syndrome: A rare hereditary condition characterized by multiple noncancerous nodules called hamartomas. Sufferers also face an increased risk of particular cancers.
• Dark skin: Darkening of the skin as a symptom
• Deafness, vitiligo, achalasia: A rare disorder characterized by deafness, achalasia (difficulty swallowing) and patches of reduced pigmentation in the skin (vitiligo).
• Decreased pigmentation: A decrease in the melanocytic composition of the skin.
• Dermatomyositis: A muscle disease characterized by chronic muscle inflammation resulting in progressive muscle weakness and a characteristic rash.
• Dyskeratosis Congenita: A rare genetic disorder characterized by sking pigmentation abnormalities, nail dystrophy and mucous membrane changes.
• FLOTCH syndrome: A very rare syndrome characterized mainly by kidney stones, completely white nails and cysts that form in oil producing areas of skin.
• Fever: Raised body temperature usually with other symptoms.
• Friedel Heid Grosshans syndrome: A very rare syndrome characterized mainly by kidney stones, completely white nails and cysts that form in oil producing areas of skin.
• Gorlin-Bushkell-Jensen syndrome: A rare disorder characterized by the development of numerous sebaceous cysts (mainly on the back, chest, arms, thighs and scrotum) as well as kidney stones and white nails.
• HIV/AIDS: HIV is a sexually transmitted virus and AIDS is the progressive immune failure that HIV causes.
• Hyperpigmentation: Excess skin pigment or coloration
• Hypomelanotic disorder: Lack of pigmentation
• Hypopigmentation: Whitening of the skin from pigment loss
• Hypopigmented lesions in children:
• Hypopituitarism: A condition characterized by diminished hormonal section by the pituitary gland
• Incontinentia Pigmenti: A rare genetic skin pigmentation disorder characterized by eye, teeth, bone, nail and hair malformations as well as central nervous abnormalities and mental deficiency.
• Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: Chronic arthritis affecting children and teens
• Knuckle pads, leukonychia and sensorineural deafness: A very rare syndrome characterized mainly by deafness, knuckle pads and white nails.
• Leprosy: A chronic, progressive infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae which causes skin sores and also affects the eyes, mucous membranes and peripheral nerves.
• Leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells, usually white blood cells.
• Leukonychia totalis: A rare nail disorder where the whole of the nail is completely white at birth.
• Leukonychia totalis - trichilemmal cysts - cilliary dystrophy: A very rare syndrome characterized mainly by kidney stones, completely white nails and cysts that form in oil producing areas of skin.
• Lichen sclerosis: Disease causing leathery or dry skin in genital areas.
• Lichen sclerosis et atrophicus: A chronic skin disease characterized by shiny, white atrophic skin patches which tend to occur on the neck, genital areas, around the anus, under the breasts and in body folds.
• Mende syndrome: A rare condition characterized by congenital deafness, mutism, partial albinism and a mongoloid face as well as other anomalies.
• Morphea: A skin disease which is more common in women and consists of yellow or cream-colored, hard, waxy patches of skin.
• Oculocutaneous albinism, type 2: A rare inherited disorder characterized by reduced pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair. Type 2 has normal levels of active tyrosinase which is needed for the production of melanin which gives the skin, hair and eyes their color - the fairness is caused by a different genetic mutation (OCA2 gene).
• Oculocutaneous albinism, type 4: A rare inherited disorder characterized by reduced pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair. Type 4 involves a normal levels of tyrosinase which is needed for the production of melanin which gives the skin, hair and eyes their color. However, albinism is caused by mutation of the MATP gene (membrane associated transporter protein).
• Oral cancer: Cancer (malignant) of the lip or inside the mouth.
• Oral thrush: Candida fungal infection of the mouth.
• POEMS syndrome: A very rare disorder that has widespread effects on the body: P - polyneuropathy, O - organopathy, E - endocrinopathy, M - monoclonal gammopathy, S - skin changes.
• Pachyonychia congenita recessive: A rare, recessively inherited disorder where the nails is white and the skin is blistered.
• Paleness: Whitening or pallor of the skin
• Peripheral vascular disease: Disease of arteries supplying the legs or sometimes arms
• Phenylketonuria: A metabolic disorder where there is a deficiency of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase which leads to a harmful buildup of the phenylalanine in the body. Normally the phenylalanine is converted into tyrosine. The severity of the symptoms can range from severe enough to cause mental retardation to mild enough not to require treatment. Severity is determined by the level of impairment of enzyme activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase.
• Pimples: Pimples or pustules on the skin.
• Polyendocrine deficiency syndrome type 2: Multi-endocrine syndrome usually affecting young adults.
• Pseudoxanthoma elasticum: A group of inherited, progressive connective tissue disorders affecting the skin, eyes and cardiovascular system. The condition is characterized by calcium deposits in the connective tissue which affects its ability to function. Some cases remain undiagnosed to the mildness of symptoms.
• Raynaud's phenomenon: A condition where the body extremities sweat and turn blue and cold. Exposure to cold, emotional stress and smoking may trigger the condition. Also known as acrocyanosis.
• Recurrent infections - short stature - hypopigmentation - coarse face: A rare syndrome characterized by recurring infections, short stature, reduced pigmentation and a coarse face.
• Schrander-Stumpel, Theunissen, Hulsmans syndrome: A rare syndrome characterized mainly by vitiligo, psychomotor retardation, cleft lip and other facial anomalies.
• Shock: Physical and mental reaction to reduced circulation
• Skin color changes: Skin changes such as redness, blueness, or whitening.
• Skin problems: Any condition that affects the skin
• Skin symptoms: Symptoms affecting the skin.
• Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia with combined immunodeficiency: A rare syndrome characterized by skeletal abnormalities as well as a poor immune system.
• Streaks: The appearance of lines or streaks on the skin
• Tinea versicolor: A condition which is characterized by a chronic noninflammatory multiple macular patches
• Transient bullous dermolysis of the newborn: A rare blistering skin disorder that affects infants and is inherited in a dominant manner. The blistering usually only occurs during the first year of life. The blisters tend to occur mainly on the extremities and other parts of the body that receive more friction.
• Triploid syndrome: A complete extra set of chromosomes.
• Uremic frost: The occurrence of powdery deposits of ureas and uric acid salts in the skin
• Vitiligo: A condition which is characterized by chronic pigmentary changes to the skin seen by white patches
• Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome: A rare condition characterized by poliosis and hair, skin, eye and ear abnormalities as well as retinal detachment and neurological involvement.
• Waardenburg syndrome type 2: A hereditary, autosomal dominant disorder.
• Waardenburg syndrome types I: A rare genetic disorder characterized by lateral displacement of medial canthi, partial albinism and deafness.
• Whitaker syndrome: A condition that usually occurs in childhood caused by an autoimmune polyendocrinopathy
• White nails: White or pale nails.
• White patches: White patches on the skin
• White skin patches: The occurrence of white patches on ones skin

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