Today's Options For Vitiligo Treatment

Several Choices Are Now Available For Vitiligo Treatment

There are around sixty-five million people worldwide who must live with vitiligo, an incurable pigmentation disorder affecting the skin. The cells providing skin color get destroyed, and white patches appear in random locations. The problem even can affect the mucous membranes in the nose and mouth, and the inner layer of the eye is not immune. Hair over affected areas turns snowy white. Vitiligo treatment is intended to slow the progression of this disease.

The root cause of this disease remains elusive. Some believe it is genetically predisposed, while others consider it to be among the autoimmune disorders. Such immune system disorders allow our own bodies to turn the tables, attacking our own organs rather than warding off outside threats. The triggers are also unknown, although there are reports that trouble sometimes begins with traumatic sun exposure, but as yet this is scientifically unproven.

The disease is no respecter or sex or race, because all suffer equally. It is simply more noticeable in people with darker skin. While not fatal, it is exceedingly damaging psychologically and emotionally. It causes embarrassment and depression, and is socially unacceptable in some areas of the world, even becoming grounds for divorce. The patches often cause emotional pain to young people, who undergo cruel teasing and social rejection.

As of yet there are no true cures, but only remedial treatments. Topical steroid cream may be effective in bringing back some normal pigmentation cells. When applied, visible results usually do not appear for around three months. Side effects such as skin shrinking or streaking can appear. There are corticosteroids in the cream, similar to the hormonal content of cortisone, and special consideration must be given when using it on children under age ten.

Another method is called psoralen photochemotherapy, or more commonly PUVA therapy. Used in conjunction with ultraviolet light, psoralen reacts with that light to darken skin. The drug is either taken orally or applied directly to the skin, followed by exposure to a special lamp. Sessions must be very carefully timed, because there is a very real danger of severe sunburn-like injury.

While oral psoralen can produce good results, it does increase the possibility of the eyes forming cataracts. Users generally are advised to wear special protective UVA sunglasses for a period up to a full day after being treated. Some patients have suffered side effects such as extreme itching, abnormal hair growth, nausea or vomiting, and sometime, hyperpigmentation. For those not tolerant of this treatment, a drug called monobenzone is used to cause depigmentation of surrounding areas, so there will be less visual contrast. This chemical sometimes causes a super-sensitivity to sunlight, which usually does not disappear.

Surgeons sometimes will perform autologus skin grafts, taking normally pigmented skin from one area and grafting them onto the non-pigmented patches. Results are not guaranteed, and the procedure can be costly, with patients advised of the usual possible complications accompanying any surgical procedure. An additional grafting method utilizing specially induced skin blisters can also be effective, but may leave scars, and total re-pigmentation may not occur.

Special surgical tattooing can cover some patches with skin-matched ink. In addition, scientists are conducting experiments involving growing a patient's actual normal skin cells in a laboratory, to be re-transplanted later into affected skin areas. For many, however, the simplest vitiligo treatment is applying special cosmetics to effectively cover the problem. Some companies manufacture personal products designed specifically for this use. Finally, special counseling and support groups are recommended by many patients, because the human touch and empathetic spirit is irreplaceable when dealing with this lifelong condition.

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