Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease characterized by white patches on skin. The skin gets its colour from a pigment called melanin. This pigment is produced in the cells called ‘melanocytes’. When melanocytes die or are unable to function, it results in the loss of melanin. This causes white spots on skin leading to vitiligo skin disease.

Vitiligo disease, also known as white patches on skin disease, can affect the skin on any part of the body. The condition can be seen in men, women and children. Vitiligo in children is more common when both parents are affected by vitiligo.

Risk Factors for Vitiligo

Vitiligo patches are caused when melanocytes are destroyed or malfunction. The exact cause for this is currently not known. However, certain factors may put you at risk for developing vitiligo disease. Let’s take a look at some of these factors:

• You have a family history of vitiligo.
• You have a family history of other autoimmune conditions, such as thyroid disorders or type 1 diabetes, to name a few.
• You have another autoimmune condition.
• You experience a trigger event, such as extreme stress, severe sunburn or skin trauma caused due to factors like contact with a chemical.
• You undergo genetic mutations.

Types of Vitiligo

The different types of vitiligo skin disease are as follows:

Generalized Vitiligo – It is the most common type of vitiligo, where macules (small, discoloured areas of skin) appear in different areas of the body.

Segmental Vitiligo – In this type of vitiligo, white patches on skin are restricted to one area or any one side of the body, such as white spots on hands or face (vitiligo on face).

Focal Vitiligo – It is a rare vitiligo disease type in which the macules remain in a small area of the body and do not spread in a particular pattern within 1 to 2 years.

Mucosal Vitiligo – In this vitiligo type, white spots on skin or white patches on skin can be seen on mucous membranes of the mouth and/or the genitals.

Trichrome Vitiligo – In this type of vitiligo, vitiligo spots on skin appear with a white or colourless centre, followed by an area of lighter pigmentation and then an area of regularly-coloured skin.

Universal Vitiligo – Also a rare vitiligo type, it causes skin discolouration in most of the skin on the entire body.

Vitiligo Symptoms

Vitiligo is a condition which affects the cells responsible for giving our skin its colour (melanocytes).

The key vitiligo symptom is the sudden onset of a single, few or many milky-white patches of irregular shapes and sizes on the skin. Small areas of de-pigmentation gradually start spreading to involve larger areas of the body. Symptoms of vitiligo appear more prominently on dark-skinned people and can be quite disfiguring at times.

As far as the progress and reasons for vitiligo symptoms are concerned, they are highly unpredictable and differ from person to person. Some people experience an extremely fast advancement, with a quick involvement of large areas of the body. In some other cases, there may be a few small patches that do not change much over time. The active phase of development of new patches can be followed by a phase that does not present any new patches.

The areas affected by vitiligo symptoms retain normal sensitivity to touch and pain; although, sensitivity towards the sun increases in many cases. Symptoms of vitiligo can also be seen on the hair over the affected parts; the hair on the skin, scalp, beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc. may lose its colour.

Over time, some of the vitiligo patches may regain their natural or original colour on their own.

Symptoms of vitiligo can affect any part of the body. However, sun-exposed regions, areas along the folds of the skin (such as groin, armpits), areas around body orifices or sites of previous injury are commonly affected by vitiligo symptoms.

The general symptoms of vitiligo are as follows:

• Loss of original skin colour in patches. This vitiligo symptom normally first appears on the face, hands, areas around body orifices as well as the genitals.
• Loss of colour in the tissues lining the mucous membranes (inside your mouth and nose).
• Premature greying or whitening of the hair on your eyelashes, scalp, beard or eyebrows.

There are different types of this skin condition. The symptoms of vitiligo vary with the type of vitiligo one is suffering from. Following are some common patterns of body affection seen in vitiligo patients:

• Focal: In this case, vitiligo symptoms/patches are limited to particular areas of the body.
• Segmental: In this case, the vitiligo symptoms are usually distributed asymmetrically, affecting one side of the body.
• Symmetrical: In this case, one can see bilaterally symmetrical patches over the body.
• Generalised: In this case, symptoms of vitiligo are spread all over the body.
• Over bony prominences: In this case, the skin near the joints is affected.
• Lip-tip vitiligo: In this type of vitiligo, the symptoms of vitiligo are limited to the lips and the tips of the fingers and toes.
• Genital vitiligo: In this type, symptoms of vitiligo affect the private parts of the body.

Emotional Impact of Vitiligo

Living with vitiligo can be very difficult. Because the patches of vitiligo are generally visible to others, people often mistake them for signs of leprosy and subject the person to social isolation. The myth that vitiligo symptoms are contagious is also responsible for the social isolation and rejection faced by people suffering from the condition. This can have a deep impact on the patient’s psyche and can lead to the distortion of his/her self-image. Anxiety, stress and depression can further worsen the symptoms of vitiligo.

Vitiligo – Diagnosis

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disorder characterized by white patches that is caused by loss of pigment called melanin. This pigment is produced by melanocytes that impart skin its natural colour. When melanocytes die or are unable to function, it results in the loss of melanin, resulting in milky white patches. Thus, vitiligo can be easily diagnosed from the way the skin appears. In addition, the patient’s medical and family history will enable the doctors to evaluate and confirm the vitiligo diagnosis.

Vitiligo diagnosis is often dependent on the type and cause of vitiligo. While the cause of white spots on the skin is the loss of melanin, the precise reason behind the destruction of these pigment-forming cells is not completely understood. In most cases, a combination of auto-immune, genetic and environmental factors has been seen as a major cause of vitiligo. Other factors, like stress, affect the immune system causing the body to react and mistakenly destroy the melanocytes by releasing antibodies against them. we scientifically evaluate each case of vitiligo under the Wood’s lamp to perform the following functions:

• Accurately conduct vitiligo diagnosis
• Rule out fungal infections
• Measure the extent of the disease
• Detect early changes that are not visible to the naked eye
• Monitor the response to the treatment

Vitiligo Treatment

When it comes to vitiligo treatment or white spots on skin treatment, homeopathy is a safe and effective medium.

Studies conducted at the University of Toronto and published in the BioMed Central Journal of Dermatology have clearly demonstrated the benefits of orally consuming Ginkgo biloba for vitiligo treatment. This is a well-known homeopathic medicine that has been successful in the treatment for white patches.

In another clinical study conducted by the AKP Homeopathic Clinical Centre, 259 vitiligo patients had improved out of 629 patients and 42 leucoderma patients benefitted out of 97 patients included in the study. Thus, research has also demonstrated the effectiveness of vitiligo treatment in homeopathy.

The scope of homeopathic treatment for vitiligo extends beyond the physical symptoms and the approach is more holistic in nature. It also addresses the underlying conditions of stress, anxiety and depression that are seen in many cases, to help patients reintegrate into regular day-to-day life.

Prognosis with homeopathic white spots on skin treatment depends on certain factors such as the location, duration, extent of spread and disease activity. It also depends on the general health of the patient and the presence of other systemic illnesses such as thyroid disorders, autoimmune diseases, etc. Vitiligo over bony prominences, around the lips, on the fingertips and toes and generalised-extensive vitiligo show slow and gradual improvement. Even after starting the vitiligo treatment, the patient may notice the occurrence of some new spots. However, this is only because it takes some time to control the disease activity and balance the immune system.