Vitiligo Treatment On White and Black Skin People At Home.
What Is Vitiligo?
Vitiligo is the loss of pigmentation in blotches or patches on the skin, hair, and eyes. It is a skin disorder that often causes depigmented spots or patches to appear on various areas of the body.
These afflicted areas are most commonly found on sites that have been exposed to sunlight such as the face, arms, hands, and legs.
The good news about vitiligo is that 83% of cases clear up by the end of their first year, but the other 17% require more treatment.
Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes the skin to lose its color and develop white patches. It is usually caused by a genetic defect in which melanocytes (cells in the skin that produce pigment) are destroyed.
Some studies have shown that certain immune system disorders also have a part to play in causing vitiligo, although this is not widely recognized or supported.
Vitiligo (from the Latin for “blister”) is a skin condition where skin color changes without a visible source.
The typical pattern shows white patches on the skin, resembling spots or sores on your body.
Vitiligo is not cancer, and it’s not a disease. It’s more of a skin problem that happens when the pigment melanin (the same substance that gives your skin color) is lost from the skin cells.
Vitiligo Treatment-What Are The Causes Of Vitiligo?
Causes of Vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin condition that results in white or light patches on the skin.
The patches are the result of the loss of melanocytes, which are cells that give the skin its color.
The cause of vitiligo can be genetic and may be passed down from parent to child. The cause of vitiligo is not fully known.
Experts agree it may be related to autoimmunity but not everyone with vitiligo has an underlying autoimmune condition.
Scientists believe that vitiligo results from an autoimmune response by the body, in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys melanocytes.
Can Some Food Cause Vitiligo?
It seems to be due to immune system malfunction.
Certain foods cause some people to get vitiligo, but not everyone reacts the same way. Here’s what you should know if you suspect that your food is causing your vitiligo.
Ginger
From a large study of over 1,600 people with vitiligo, ginger was identified as the only food that significantly increased the risk of someone getting vitiligo while they were taking it.
The longer the patient took ginger, the more likely they were to get vitiligo.
Ginger was used to treating nausea and vomiting in children between 15 and 24 months of age.
The researchers speculate that it might be triggering an autoimmune response in a small number of children, causing them to develop vitiligo.
Similar results have been found in people taking ginseng, which is also associated with an increased risk of vitiligo.
Onions
There is no evidence that onions cause vitiligo, but it’s worth knowing that some people are sensitive to them.
Both white and red onions contain a chemical called n-propyldisulfide. In some people, this chemical can trigger an autoimmune response that causes vitiligo.
A study of white onion produced the same results as ginger and ginseng. The longer the patient took white onion, the more likely they were to develop vitiligo.
Although this is a small study of only 9 people, other studies have shown that people who work in the onion fields are more likely to get vitiligo.
Tomato Juice
A study from 2015 looked into how tomato juice affected the development of vitiligo.
Researchers collected genetic samples from 12 people with the disease and asked them about their diet.
The genetic samples were then compared to those of 5,300 control patients without vitiligo.
Four genetic markers were identified. Two of these were associated with white American ancestry and two were associated with Hispanic ancestry.
Only one of the markers was associated with tomato intake. The more tomato juice consumed, the lower the chances of developing vitiligo.
Tomato juice contains glutathione, a substance that is known to reverse autoimmune diseases such as vitiligo in mice.
While this sounds promising, we don’t know if this would work in humans or how much one would need to consume.
At What Age Does Vitiligo Start?
Vitiligo can affect people of all ages but is most common in people aged 10 to 30 years.
It affects both men and women equally, and is not contagious; it does run in families but the tendency to develop vitiligo may be genetically determined.
Vitiligo affects skin color, not health. Vitiligo does not lead to other health problems or conditions.
The patches of vitiligo on the skin are usually painless and non-itching; they also do not get worse over time.
Is Vitiligo Contagious?
Vitiligo is not contagious. The disease may appear at any age, including during childhood and old age. The onset of vitiligo is usually slow and proceeds through several stages:
Patchy depigmentation patches of skin appear that are not normally light in color, but instead have normal pigmentation resembling the color of the person’s surrounding unaffected skin.
Some people describe this as a “watercolor” effect because the borders between affected and unaffected skin remain sharp.
Is sunlight good for vitiligo?
This is a common question, especially for those who suffer from vitiligo. The answer is simple: There is no evidence that sunlight cures vitiligo or reduces the appearance of the condition in any way.
Sunlight makes it easier for the body’s immune system to fight off infection, and this helps vitiligo make a full recovery faster.
However, it has been known for a long time that physiological vitamin D production from sunlight is insufficient to cure vitiligo, so the use of additional supplements and/or the use of sun lamps
would be required in addition to sunlight.
Sunlight, including UV-B light, triggers the body to make vitamin D3, a vital hormone that helps heal wounds, fight off infections and prevent cancer.
What happens if vitiligo is left untreated?
As the vitiligo becomes more serious, it can lead to an unsightly rash on the affected areas.
In some cases, vitiligo can become a deadly skin disease as it creates blemishes that may not improve with treatment.
If vitiligo is not treated, it may lead to the loss of natural pigmentation resulting in the loss of healthy skin.
The absence of natural pigmentation in the affected skin may lead to an instance of melanoma, a dangerous type of skin cancer.
Melanoma appears as dark spots on the skin that cannot be covered by clothing or makeup and has the potential to spread to other parts of the body.
How Do You Treat and Manage Vitiligo?
The first step in dealing with vitiligo is to consult a dermatologist.
The doctor will examine the affected areas and take a blood test to rule out other skin conditions that may appear similar to vitiligo, such as:
Do not touch, scratch, or try to remove the white patches. This may cause further discoloration of unaffected skin.
The treatment of choice for vitiligo is narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy or psoralen with UVA light therapy.
In its most severe form, vitiligo may involve a significant portion of the body. Treatment is designed to offset the effects of vitiligo in other areas where it has not yet appeared.
The vitiligo treatment therapy usually takes several weeks, and then may take up to a few months for complete improvement.
Psoralen and UVA light is usually combined with a topical sunscreen every day for vitiligo treatment and to prevent sunburn.