Skin Care Solutions For Vitiligo (Leucoderma)? Dermatologist Explains
- What part of the body can be affected?
Any part of the body can be affected: hands, legs, head (scalp),
soles, lips, and mouth (oral cavity) too. Any part of the skin and mucosa can
be affected.
- What causes these white patches?
The disease is autoimmune. One’s own immune system destroys the
melanocytes (pigment cells) in the skin. A genetic predisposition is present.
Children whose parents have the disease are more likely to develop it. At
times, deep injuries or burns where the deeper layers of the skin are affected
can cause a flare of the condition or trigger the disease process. It is often
associated with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.
- What age groups get affected?
Any age group can develop vitiligo. This disorder affects all
races and sexes equally. White-skinned people usually don’t bother much about
it, as it doesn’t show as much as in darker-skinned individuals. In India, the
prevalence rate is high (2%).
How to assess if it will spread all over the body?
There is no way to predict the course of the disorder. For some
patients, the patches just remain stable. Few experience the rapid spread of
the condition. Some patients’s complaints of itching during the spread Physical
and emotional stress the condition can aggravate. There are many ways the
spread of the disorder can be controlled. So the earlier the patient approaches
the doctor, the better.
- Myths about Vitiligo?
Vitiligo is not contagious and does not spread through touch.
This is not a life-threatening disorder and does not affect any other system in
one’s body.
Vitiligo Treatment
Treatment modalities for vitiligo are many. The goal of the treatment is usually to stop the spread of the disorder and restore lost skin color.
NonSurgical Methods
Cosmetic makeup Colors to match your skin are available,
and these can help the patient regain their confidence. Self-tanners are also
available and must be used regularly to retain the color.
Oral medications are
available that stop the white patches from spreading, and oral psoralens also
help with depigmentation. These medications should be prescribed by registered
doctors.
A Topical
application of cream helps with re-pigmentation. Topical
psoralen solutions are also used to help re-pigment the skin.
There are a lot of constraints when using topical applications.
Small parts are more effective, and usually the face helps more than limbs or
body parts, which are less exposed to sunlight.
Light therapy
Light therapy is very effective. PUVA therapy has been used for many years
and is now outdated. It has a few side effects and is very slow in
re-pigmentation.
Narrow Band
UltraViolet B (UVB) light is the latest in light therapy
and has minimal side effects. Re-pigmentation is faster, and it also helps
control the spread of the disorder.
High power Narrow Band UVB is the most effective in re-pigmentation but
is limited to smaller areas.
Surgical Procedures
Suction Blister Technique Blisters are made with special equipment on
the normal skin, and the top layers of these blisters are used as skin grafts,
which are fixed on the white patches. The skin around the lips and eyelids (the
skin is very thin) is ideal for this technique, as the cosmetic results are
very good.
Split Skin Graft
It is very commonly done. The graft is taken from the normal
skin with special knives and transferred to the white patches. Very large areas
cannot be treated with this procedure.
Melanocyte transfer surgery
In this procedure, the advantage is that the larger area can be
treated with small grafts. White patches up to 100 sq. cm can be treated in one
session. The procedure needs only a short time and re-pigmentation within a
short time span of 3-6 months.
There are laser treatments and some medications that are used
very judiciously in resistant cases (patients not responding to any treatment).
Vitiligo is one disorder that does not physically affect a person, but the mental trauma it causes is unfathomable! … Health care product companies list in Delhi
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