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What is Vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a skin condition wherein the cells which are responsible for your skin color gets destroyed. These cells known as melanocytes stop producing the skin pigment called as melanin. Further, when these cells doesn’t produce melanin at all, certain areas of your skin start becoming white or they start losing color. These loss of pigmentation may occur anywhere in your body that includes nostrils, back of the eye, genitals, and sun-exposed body parts such as the arms, face, hands, and feet, inside the mouth or other mucus membranes. If such areas involve hair too, they may also turn white or grey.

Vitiligo isn’t contagious, but it may affect many parts of the body and therefore a person who has vitiligo cannot transmit the same to another person.

Vitiligo symptoms include white patches on the skin.

Causes of Vitiligo

The skin usually doesn't have its characteristic color since it has lost its melanin. But for some reason, melanocytes which are the pigment-forming cells gets destroyed in this condition. Changes in the immune system too are related with the Vitiligo causes.

There is no exact vitiligo cause that is known. But, it is said that an autoimmune condition might be the Vitiligo causes wherein your body's defenses turn on your own cells instead of attacking invading germs.

Vitiligo has a tendency to affect all races equally, however, it's more noticeable in people who are dark-skinned.

Types of Vitiligo

There are total two types of vitiligo and three sub-types. However, it depends on the number of patches and its location on the body:

Doctors typically categorize vitiligo as one of the following two types: (4)

  • Nonsegmental vitiligo which is also known as generalized vitiligo, bilateral vitiligo and vitiligo vulgaris. This type of vitiligo is the most common types of vitiligo resulting in white patches on both sides of the body. It begins near the hands, feet, around the eyes or mouth, or in such areas of the body wherein the skin rubs together frequently.
  • Segmental vitiligo is also called as unilateral vitiligo. This is a type of vitiligo that usually begins at a younger age, progressing in a year and then stopping. Segmental vitiligo appears usually in one area or segment of the body, such as on one leg or one arm.

These two types of vitiligo is further classified into 3 subtypes:

  • Localized wherein vitiligo occurs in just one spot or a couple of spots on the body.
  • Generalized wherein the patches of color loss starts occurring in many areas of the body.
  • Universal wherein most of the original skin color is gone and therefore this sub type of vitiligo is very rare.

Treatment

What should you do in case your Vitiligo worsens?

You should immediately visit a doctor if you start observing symptoms of vitiligo. Your doctor may recommend some treatment based on the diagnosis.

What are the available Vitiligo treatment options?

Vitiligo treatments has a motive in restoring the color balance to your skin. Some Vitiligo treatments target to add pigment to your skin whereas some other treatments remove it. Therefore, your Vitiligo treatment options will vary depending on the location of the patches, size of the patches, number of patches as well the severity of your condition. Your Vitiligo treatment will also depend the way you respond to the treatment.

The types of Vitiligo treatments are surgical, medical, or a mixture of both. However, not all treatments will work for everyone and thus some may lead to unwanted side effects.

Therefore, it is advisable to always contact your doctor the moment you start experiencing any side effects due to a Vitiligo treatment. Your doctor may then readjust your dosage or offer alternative solution.

Medical

Before you start observing the effects of your Vitiligo treatment, you should take a treatment for at least 3 months Medical treatments include application of topical creams that include corticosteroids that can help in returning back the color to white patches in the beginning. Some other creams help in slowing down the growth. Sometimes these topical creams may result in certain side effects such as thinning, skin shrinkage, excessive hair growth and skin irritation.

Oral medications: Some alternative medications such as steroids and certain antibiotics can also prove as an effective Vitiligo treatment. However, these medications would be available only by prescription.

Psoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy: This Vitiligo treatment is a combination requiring you to take psoralen as a tablet or apply it to your skin as a cream. Your doctor will then expose you to UVA light for the drug activation that will help in restoration of color to your skin. Later, you’ll need to be careful by reducing sun exposure by wearing protective sunglasses. Psoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy also have side effects including nausea, itching, sunburn and hyperpigmentation.

Narrow band UVB light: This is Vitiligi treatment offers a more focused type of light therapy that usually leads to a fewer side effects. This treatment of vitiligo may also be beneficial as part of a home treatment program. However, it should be done under a doctor’s supervision.

Excimer laser treatment: This Vitiligo treatment helps in case of small areas of patches and therefore takes less than four months for curing.

Depigmentation: If your body is more than 50% affected and you wish to balance your skin, your doctor will recommend depigmentation. Depigmentation generally targets to fade away the rest of the skin for matching the areas that have lost color. This treatment can be effective but it may take up to 2 years to see the results, inflammation being the biggest side effect.

Surgical

Surgical options are available and are effective Vitiligo treatment when light medications and light therapy don’t work. The types of surgery may include skin grafting, melanocyte transplants and micropigmentation.

Other therapies and management options

Results may be slow although you are already undergoing Vitiligo medical treatment. Therefore, alternative therapies such as sunscreen, cosmetics and managing your mental health are some of the options.

Are there any natural or homemade remedies for Vitiligo?

You should follow the mentioned self-care tactics that may help you to take care of your skin and improve its overall appearance:

  • Protecting your skin from artificial sources of UV light and the sun. If you are light skinned and have vitiligo, use a water-resistant and broad-spectrum sunscreen with atleast SPF 30. Keep applying the sunscreen generously and then reapply after every two hours — or more often if you are active in swimming or apply whenever you sweat. You should not use sunlamps and tanning beds. If you protect your skin from sun, you will prevent long-term skin damage and sunburn.
  • Concealing the affected skin. You may feel better by using concealing products since they tend to overall improvise your skin, especially in case your vitiligo patches are on those areas that are exposed.
  • Don't get a tattoo. Avoid getting a tattoo since that doesn’t relate to treating your vitiligo. Rather you may observe a new patch of vitiligo due to tattooing within 2 weeks of the damage.

When to see a doctor

You should visit a doctor in case certain areas of your skin, or hair or eyes have started losing colour. Generally, vitiligo doesn’t have any cure. However, Vitiligo treatment can help you to stop or slow the process of discoloring and then return some color back to your skin.

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