I want to know how can I prevent from vitiligo? Hi , I found this for you.
There are a number of ways to alter the appearance of vitiligo without addressing its underlying cause. In mild cases, vitiligo patches can be hidden with makeup or other cosmetic solutions. If the affected person is pale-skinned, the patches can be made less visible by avoiding sunlight and the sun tanning of unaffected skin. However, exposure to sunlight is preferable in the long run, because it helps the melanocytes regenerate to allow the pigmentation to come back to its original color.
Repigmentation therapies to remove the white patches include corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors, ultraviolet light and surgery, but they are not very effective. Current treatments include exposure to Narrow Band UV-B light, which seems to blur the edges of patches, and lightly freckling the affected areas. Immunomodulator creams are believed to cause repigmentation in some cases, but there is no scientific study yet to back this claim. If repigmentation fails, the patient can opt for chemical depigmentation, which uses 20% monobenzylether of hydroquinone. This process is irreversible and generally ends up with complete or mostly complete depigmentation.
In late October of 2004, doctors successfully transplanted melanocytes to vitiligo affected areas, effectively repigmenting the region. The procedure involved taking a thin layer of normally pigmented skin from the patient's gluteal region. Melanocytes were then separated out and used to make a cellular suspension. The area to be treated was then ablated with a laser, and the melanocyte graft applied. Three weeks later, the area was exposed to UV light repeatedly for two months. Between 73 and 84 percent of patients experienced nearly complete repigmentation of their skin. The longevity of the repigmentation differed from patient to patient.
Famous People with this condition include :
Michael Jackson, famous singer/songwriter, was diagnosed with vitiligo in 1984
Graham Norton, famous TV presenter/comedian, developed vilitigo in 1988 after being stabbed whilst at Drama School in London. He has tell-tale white patches in his hair as a result.
Joe Rogan, actor/comedian and host of Fear Factor, is known to have the disease
Rigo Tovar, famous Mexican musician/singer, was diagnosed with it late in his life you cannot prevent it.
you cannot use the word cured in vitiligo, you use the word regress or latent.
there is no 100% cure as yet. Definition of Vitiligo
Vitiligo, also called white spot disease or leukoderma, is a disease in which the skin loses its pigment due to the destruction of melanocytes.
Description of Vitiligo
Melanocytes are pigment cells located in the surface layer of the skin called the epidermis and are responsible for producing melanin. Melanin is a dark pigment that gives skin its color and protects against ultraviolet radiation. When melanocytes stop producing melanin, the skin becomes pale, leaving areas of white patches - this is called vitiligo.
Vitiligo can start at any age, but it often occurs between the ages of 20 and 30. Vitiligo may begin on the face above the eyes, or on the neck, armpits, groin, hands or knees. Vitiligo may appear as a few small pigmented patches or spread over the entire body. In many cases, initial pigment loss will occur, then, after several months, the number and size of the light areas become stable and may remain so for a long time. Episodes of pigment loss may appear again later.
Vitiligo is present in about 1 percent of the population.
Causes and Risk Factors of Vitiligo
The actual cause of vitiligo is unknown, however researchers believe that there are many factors and/or conditions listed below that contribute to the disease:
Heredity (over 30 percent of affected persons have reported vitiligo in a parent, sibling, or child)
Exposure to chemicals such as phenol (disinfectant) or catechol (used in dyeing or tanning)
Emotional or physical stress
Autoimmune disorder is which the body may be destroying its own melanocytes
Autotoxic response is which the melanocytes self-destruct leaving a toxic residue, that, in turn destroys new melanocytes
Skin injury
Burns
Inflammatory skin disorders
Associative disorders such as diabetes, pernicious anemia, hyper- and hypo-thyroidism, Addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency), uveitis (inflammation of the eyes) or alopecia areata (patches of hair loss).
Symptoms of Vitiligo
The symptoms of vitiligo are:
Chalk white patches of skin often located symmetrically on both sides of the body
White hairs within depigmented patches
Diagnosis of Vitiligo
The medical history is important, but diagnosis can usually be made solely by observation of characteristic skin changes. For fair-skinned people, the doctor will use a special light, called a Wood's lamp, to shine on the skin in a dark room to identify the vitiliginous patches. In some cases, a skin biopsy may be required.
Treatment of Vitiligo
Depending on the severity of the condition, the treatment method may vary. Treatment methods include:
Avoidance of tanning. For fair-skinned individuals, avoiding tanning of normal skin can make the areas of vitiligo almost unnoticeable.
Use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.
Use a cosmetic cover-up solution. Make-up, self-tanning compounds with dihydroxyacetone, and dyes (such as Covermark, Walnut Stain, Vita Dye or Dermablend) help temporarily conceal the white patches of vitiligo.
Repigmentation. The restoration of the normal pigment and can be achieved with repigmentation therapy or corticosteroids. To get repigmentation, new pigment cells must be produced from existing ones, such as ones found at the base of hair follicles, from the edge of the patch or from the patch itself if depigmentation is not complete.
In repigmentation therapy, a patient is given a psoralen drug (orally) and then is exposed to ultraviolet light A (UV-A) in the doctor's office. This therapy is called PUVA. When psoralen drugs are activated by UV-A, they stimulate repigmentation by increasing the availability of color-producing cells at the skin's surface. Psoralen is also available in a topical form that can be applied to the body for patients with small, scattered patches. Topical corticosteroids (such as Temovate or Psorcon) are prescribed for patients with small patches of vitiligo.
Depigmentation is the destruction of the remaining melanocytes. Patients with vitiligo over half of their exposed body may want to consider using this method. A bleaching chemical called monobenzylether of hydroquinone (Benzoquin) is applied to normally pigmented skin. Treatment may take up to one year. I am trying to treat mine on the basis that is one of the skin conditions resulting from a candida albicans (yeast fungus) overgrowth. I would like to think they are fading, but I am not sure.
Check out www.hufa.org, the yeast link, and the books mentioned in the library link, for more info on this connection. |
