Outline
Introduction
Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease which involves discoloration in skin, hair, face, hands, arms, etc due to the damage of melanocytes. This disease affects all races and genders equally, but is most commonly found in individuals of 20 -30 years of age. About 1% of the world’s population is affected by vitiligo
Cause
The cause of Vitiligo is still unclear but scientists and professionals believe it could be associated with underlying autoimmune diseases. The disease is caused due to dead or defective melanocytes. Melanocytes are a type of cell found in the epidermal layer of our skin. They contain a dark pigment called melanin, which gives color to our skin and hair.
The death of these melanocytes causes lack of melanin production, which leads to abnormal discolouration in some part of our skin or hair. There are multiple possible causes for vitiligo. A few of them are genetics, autoimmune diseases (could cause early onset of vitiligo) or trauma (chemical/stress/sunburns/etc).
Symptoms
The symptoms include discoloration of skin in patches, premature graying of hair and loss of color in mucus membranes.
*Premature greying of hair is when an individual starts losing color in their hair before they are supposed to. The onset of grey hair is different for some races, but usually it is mid 30s to mid 40s.
Types of Vitiligo
Universal - discoloration throughout the body
Generalised - discoloration in multiple parts of the body
Segmental - discoloration only on one side
Localised - discoloration only in one or few areas
Acrofacial - individual is affected in face and/or hands
Effect of Vitiligo on Mental Health
Due to the disease, the patient might develop low self esteem. They may even face social and emotional pressure due to their appearance. This mental stress can develop into serious anxiety or depression due to society.
Diagnosis
The discolored patches of skin are usually easy to recognize as Vitiligo. However, a medical professional might use a Wood’s Lamp, which shines UV light, to analyse the possibility of any other skin condition such as albinish or chemical leukoderma. The professional may also choose to do your blood work and look at some skin samples to check your skin cells in detail.
Treatment
There is no cure for vitiligo, but there are ways to make it better. Most people choose to use self tanning products or makeup to hide the discoloration. If the disease is really affecting the patient’s life, only then is treatment done. There are light based therapies that could try to bring back skin color or even the discoloration. People who have vitiligo on more than half of their body even decide to bleach their skin to match the discoloured patches of vitiligo.
Light Therapy
Light therapy using UVB light has so far shown that it can slow down or stop vitiligo when combined with corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors. Although, the calcineurin inhibitors do bring up the possibility of skin cancer. It takes anywhere from 1-6 months for the patient to observe the effectiveness of the treatment. Another famous therapy is the psoralen light therapy, which uses UVA light on the skin after the patient has had a dose of psoralen. However, it is harder to administer.
Skin Grafting
In extreme cases, patients go for skin grafting. Some patches of your healthy skin are transferred to the discolored patches. This is only done when vitiligo is in lesser places and is smaller.
Other possible treatments
Other possible surgeries are blister grafting and Cellular suspension transplant. None of the treatment methods guarantee recoloration or cured vitiligo.
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