All that you wanted to know about Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a disease that causes the loss of skin color in patches. It can affect the skin on any part of your body. It may also affect hair and inside of mouth.

Normally the color of hair and skin is determined by melanin. Vitiligo disease occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning. The condition is not life threatening or contagious but affects self-esteem of the patient. It hampers the quality of life.

Below are the signs that indicate vitiligo

• Patchy loss of skin color
• Premature whitening or graying of hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard .
• Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth and nose.
• Loss of or change in color of inner layer of eyeball is also one of the symptoms of vitiligo

The causes of vitiligo

• Vitiligo occurs when pigment producing cells called melanocytes die or stop producing melanin, the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eye color. The involved patches of skin become lighter or white.

It may be related to

• A disorder of immune system where immune system attacks and destroys the melanocytes in the skin
• Family history: research suggests that individual with family history of vitiligo or premature graying of hair are at increased risk. Other triggers that may increase the threat of vitiligo are extreme stress and autoimmune disorders.

You confirm your vitligo by

• Skin biopsy
• Woodslamp:  hypopigmented skin has sharper border under fluoresce bright blue light.

Your doctor will look for

Depigmented, milky, white or hypopigmented macules and patches that are sharply demarcated from surrounding normal colored skin. Hair within patch may turn white.

Margins of vitiligo patches are a good indicator of activity of disease. Hyperpigmented margins are a sign of stability or recovery whereas hypopigmented margins are sign of activity. Hyperpigmentation around follicles within the patches is sign of recovery.

You may have one of the below types of vitiligo

• Localized:  a few patches over one part of body, has best prognosis.

• Dermatomal patches limited to region of one or two nerve segments

• Vulgaris widespread and symmetrical patches involving extremities and trunk

• Acro orificial involves fingures, toes, palms, soles and lips, perioral, glans penis areas carries poor prognosis.

• Universal total or near total affects whole body has poor prognosis.

Vitiligo may not be life threatening problem but it can be extremely stressful. Vitiligo not only affects one’s emotional state but also one’s psychological well being, families or social life, career and also self esteem. Adolescents may feel just as much humiliated miserable or apprehensive about how others react or look at them.

Vitiligo is result of abnormal immunity and source of depression and hopelessness for those who suffer from it. The intensity and frequency of white patches are directly proportional to stress the person is undergoing because of them. It is a vicious cycle—stress causing white patches and white patches causing stress.

Take care of yourself and minimize the impact of the disease

• Expose the affected areas of body to early morning sun for 20-30 min daily
• Use mild soap while bathing
• Avoid using any cosmetic application on skin
• Take diet rich in iron, meat, liver, cereals, green leafy vegetables are rich source of iron.
• Avoid stress and learn to relax

Take homeopathic help for safe and effective cure

When baby Sarita (aged 9 years) visited us with her parents, she had one small peanut size patch on her left upper arm. Though Sarita looked relaxed, her parents and grandparents looked anxious, as they worried about the future of the girl child. After studying her detailed case history, we prescribed her customized homeopathic medicines with which the patch recovered fully within just 6 months of treatment. We then asked her to stop the medicines but parents were not ready to stop the treatment for fear of patch reappearing. However, even 3 years after stopping the treatment, patch did not reappear. Recovery of patch not only relieved patient but it also released the tension of family members.

Homeopathic treatment for vitiligo have shown very encouraging results in most cases of vitiligo since it offers a comprehensive treatment as it goes to root of problem by helping build up immunity and eventually restores the pigmented patches back to normal skin color. Homeopathy considers vitiligo as local expression of a system disturbance. Vitiligo is a condition which requires in depth study of individual case and only constitutional medicine can help. Duration and success of treatment depends on extend of patches and duration of illness. The constitutional homeopathic medicines for vitiligo stimulate the melanocyte function to be able to produce body’s own normal melanin pigment. As homeopathy treats it from within, when constitutional treatment is completed it is unlikely that the patches reappear again as compared to treatment with conventional medicines.