Irshad's Blog

Vitiligo Symptoms

Vitiligo generally called white spots illness as well or Leucoderma, in which the skin loses its pigment due to the annihilation of melanocytes. Melanocytes are such pigment cells which found in the epidermis (the surface layer of the skin) and there are responsible for producing Melanin (a dark pigment that gives skin its color) and protects against ultraviolet radiation., The skin becomes pale when melanocytes stop producing melanin leaving areas of white patches this is called vitiligo.

To describe Vitiligo symptoms, the onset of the vitiligo symptoms is very visible in darker and wheatish skinned people as the contrast of white patches looks obvious against dark skin. The manifestation of flat areas of normal-feeling skin with complete pigment loss is sudden or gradual and appearance of vitiligo symptoms the lesions appear as flat areas with no pigment.

In common the affected areas are the face, elbows, knees, hands feet, and genitalia.

The initial vitiligo symptoms are easily observable with flat white spots or patches on your skin. Vitiligo symptoms usually starts the first white patch appears on the skin area remains exposed to the sun. Vitiligo symptoms do not cause physical discomfort to your skin, such as itching etc.

Vitiligo symptoms, vitiligo most commonly affects traumatic areas particularly on the face, upper chest, hands and groin. It may be widespread, affecting both sides of the body it may affect only one side of the body or it may affect only one localized area.

If the affected area contains hair, the hair may turn white then vitiligo symptoms sharply distinct white patches are seen rather obviously. Sometimes there may be seen by a circular white patch, resembling a halo.

Vitiligo is pigmentation and chronic skin disorder in which  irregular  patches of depigmentation appear on different parts of skin.  Why these patches appear there are different reasons, which are explained in this regard. However the fact about vitiligo causes that causes are not fully clear till to date by any dermatologists.  
Post by : http://www.antivitiligo.com/vitiligo/vitiligo-causes.html

Among all the theories about vitiligo auto immunity is the most authentic reason of vitiligo.  How auto immunity affects a person skin  and leave patches with no color in these it is rather a different topic.

Antibody:

                An antibody generated in skin start destroying your own skin pigment producing cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes are the cell which are important in for  skin coloration. These cells   generate a substance called melanin which is  actual thing in skin tone. Melanin defines skin color. An microscopic view of the patches shows that there is lack of melanin in vitiligo patches as well as of melanocytes.

Never Cells:
 
                   An anomalous action of  nerve cells by which a toxic material produced in these cells destroys melanocytes cells.

Auto immunity is complex  mechanism in skin and it is difficult to understand why such negative response of auto immune system occur in your body which damage body skin color.

Here is video  about vitiigo causes

It seem very strange when some one even some expert dermatologist say that there is no cure of vitiligo, or  complete cure of vitiligo is not possible. Aftere this reply  a question arrise in mind, then how  many vitiligo patients get back  their skin color?  When we search about this response a well justified answer of this given by Vitiligo Guide  at http://www.vitiligoguide.com/vitiligo-cure/   as 
       "You cannot cure vitiligo or halt it, but you can manage the local manifestations (white patches) using any suitable topical or oral treatments."

About Vitiligo:
                      Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder,  known by the name of leucoderma also in  many countries of Asia.  Vitiligo is actually a depigmentation problem in skin due to the abnormal behaviour of your immune system. In vitiligo  melanocytes cells of different part of the skin become inactive or leave producing melanin for skin. Melanin is  coloring substance responsible for specific tune of your skin.

Why not Cure Vitiligo:

No doubt Vitiligo occurs due to the destruction of melanocytes from a certain part of skin but  reason why such destruction take place or which are the  triggers that tend to melanocytes to reduce or stop to produce melanocytes is not clear to the dermatologist. All medical treatments or medicine try to cure any diesease by eleminating or curing its root causes.  In case of vitiligo, no root cause and hence no cure for it.

Which is better to Cure Vitiligo

Many treatment properties of herbal medicine make them favorite for the cure of vitiligo.
as like 
         Natural treatments are solution orriented approach and treat the  underlying cause
         of the dieseases for whihc these are being used.
         These causes no side effects.
         Herbal medicines are easy to use and easily available.
         These are more cheaper option as compare to other medicines.

Pigmentation is the process of  coloring the skin tissue. When we talk about skin care the we use the word  pigmentation for skin color. It is regular process of skin and some time abnormality in this skin process causes white or dark spots on skin.  Skin is not only the largest organ of the skin but  a source of   beauty and groom for a person and  skin color play an important role  in  a person’s physical grace and appearance. Any skin color either white or black look well without the appearance of different type of spots or blotches on skin.

Skin Pigmentation

As we mention earlier that different factory affects the pigmentation process of skin like environmental condition, severe sunburn or prolong exposure to sun, emotional distress and some internal causes like auto-immunity. The irregularities in the pigmentation process of skin are generally termed as depigmentation or hyper-pigmentation etc.
Skin is not only the covering and bordering layering of body it gives great contribution to the beauty and grace of a person.

 
Hyper-pigmentation

Normally main cause  of this is the too much sun exposure. Hyper-pigmentation problems occurs due when production of pigmentation substance increase from a normal level.
Hyper-pigmentation is the problem of pigmentation  in which dark spots appear in skin. These spots may be of reddish, black or brown in color. Moles is a common disease it is also hyper-pigmentation problem of skin. A common example of hyper pigmentation is melasma in which dark spots appear on the cheeks and top of nose.



Hypo-pigmentation  

Hypo-pigmentation; a word depigmentation is also use in place of it. Depigmentatin occurs when the production of skin pigmentation substance reduced or stop. Normally such skin condition causes  white patches on skin.
In depigmentation the skin becomes lighter as compared to its surrounding.  Example of skin condition causes depigmentation are nevus depigmentosus (quite stable scars may appear any part of body), Pityriasis Alba (a common condition in children), Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis, vitiligo and  white scars due to injuries.

Causes: Most frequent cause of pigmentation  problems are the internal  and related to the immune system of the body.

In general word pigmentation  is used for the hyper-pigmentation problem because these are more abundant than the depigmentation skin problems.

Now some info about some major characters in skin coloration process. I recenty read on site relating vitiligo skin condition that vitiligo is the most common depigmentation problem of skin. (by: http://www.antivitiligo.com/vitiligo/things-like-vitiligo.html )

Melanin

A coloring substance in our bodies is called melanin. It protects body from absorbing harmful Ultra Violet rays. The special skin cells that produce melanin called melanocytes.

Melanin play an important role in pigmentation or depigmentation of skin. If body produce too much melanin it causes hyper-pigmentation and in inverse case if produces low melanin it causes hypo pigmentation in skin.

Useful link www.vitiligos.com

Vitiligo is a common skin condition and the general abnormality of body immune system that result in white spots on the skin and there are currently no acceptable permanent means to halt this process. When we say treating vitiligo, it means eliminating the white spots weather root cause is addressed or not.

The following are the possible treatment  for vitiligo skin disorder.

(1)Home Remedies

(2)Alternate treatments
         (2.a)Oral therapies with natural Psoralen
         (2.b)Topical therapies using natural Psoralen
         (2.c)Homeopathic
         (2.d)Ayer Vedic

(3)Prescription Medicine
  (3.a)Topical steroid therapy
  (3.b)Psoralen photochemotherapy

(4)Surgical Therapy
  (4.a)Autologous skin grafts
  (4.b)Skin grafts using blisters
  (4.c)Autologous melanocyte transplants
  (4.d)Totooing

(1)Home Remedies

Various methods and remedies are used by the effected people for this disease which range from simple dietary modifications to ingestion of psoralen. The benefits are as variable as the nature of remedies. The most effective of all these is the use of psoralen but there use without supper vision of expert has a high potential of side effects which may preclude their use.

(2)Alternate treatments

Psoralens are a group of naturally occurring, substances, which can sensitize human skin to the tanning effect of UV light (Sun light), thereby enhancing pigmentation. It is for this important quality, that they have been used with success, to treat vitiligo since ages.

Psoralen is found naturally in the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia, which is an important plant in the Ayuvedic system of Indian medicine. It is also found in common fig, parsley, West Indian satinwood and celery.

2.a)Oral Psoralen Therapy
It is commonly even as a domestic remedy for vitiligo, in which the plant Psoralea corylifolia is ingested in various recipes. A common example is soaking the planet parts in water over night and drinking the water in the morning.

The remedy is fairly effective when combined with sun exposure, but very few people will continue to use it because of the following reasons.
Extremely unpleasant taste
Large quantities are usually required for oral intake which is very cumbersome
intolerance and side effects in form of nausea and allergic symptoms
Unwanted over pigmentation of the whole body
The pigmentation is usually temporary which is lost gradually on cessation of treatment
Precautions: Psoralen is a very potent substance, and should not be used without adequate knowledge in its use.

2.b)Topical psoralen therapy
Application of the medicine on target skin area is a very vise and convenient alternative to oral ingestion. It can sensitize the skin even locally, which would subsequently gain color on sun exposure.
Various methods of local applications are recommended by different authorities e.g. extracts, oils and concoctions. In which the substance is used alone or in complex recipes along with other herbal materials.

Anti-Vitiligo which is currently the most potent treatment for vitiligo contains psoralean corylifolia in the strength of 8% W/W, along with three other constituents which modulate and enhance the action of this photo sensitizer. This combination has yielded almost permanent re-pigmentation compared with the temporary effect of oral psoralin threpy.

2.c)Homeopathy
Homeopathy like the allopathic medicine believes vitiligo to be a systemic disease, with localized expression. They however differ in the treatment approach, because homeopathy does not offer any localized topical remedy. It aims at detection and restoration of abnormalities in the constitution of the body. This necessarily means that the patient has to be treated and supervised by homeopathic professional.

2.d)Ayurvedic
Ayurvedic includes herbal/ natural remedial systems in addition to certain other disciplines like surgery and use of heavy metals. The treatment approach for vitiligo is similar to herbal/ all natural approach. Some of the experts also recommend therapeutic vomiting and purgation for vitiligo.

                   
(3)Prescription Medicine

Prescription medicine use either topical steroid or psoralen and oral psoralen.  Prescription medicines are those therapies which are regulated by public laws and their sales is generly prehibted without prescription form a medical professional. Their advantages and side effects are scientifically studied and have a large evidence base to back them up. The main disadvantage how ever they are very expensive and not as effective in vitiligo as some of the herbal products are.

3.a)Topical Steroid Therapy
Steroids are fairly potent suppressor of immunity and can hence be of benefit in auto-immune diseases. They are commonly used in the form of topical creams and ointments during the early stages of vitiligo. Milder steroids are used for the children and potent ones for the adults. They are usually recommended for a period of three months and the effect is generally temporary. Local and systemic side effects may limit the use of these agents for prolonged duration.

Steroids are chemically related to cortisol, the major hormone produced by adrenal glands. They are less potent than psoralen photochemotherapy in the treatment of vitiligo.

3.b)Psoralen Photochemotherapy
Psoralens are a group of naturally occurring, substances, which can sensitize human skin to the tanning effect of UV light (Sun light), thereby enhancing pigmentation. It is for this important quality, that they have been used with success, to treat vitiligo since ages.

Psoralen is found naturally in the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia, which is an important plant in the Ayuvedic system of Indian medicine. It is also found in common fig, parsley, West Indian satinwood and celery.

4)Surgical Therapy

4.a)Autologous skin grafts
The pigment containing skin from one area of the body is surgically shifted to an area where there is no pigment. The success is usually no predictable and the result may more un-acceptable than the base-line. When the cost, the hassle and the risk of surgical complication like scarring and infection are added, it becomes a fairly risk option to go for.

4.b)Skin grafts using blisters
It is a variation in the technique of skin grafting, in which blisters on the pigment containing skin are artificially created and then cut out to be transplanted at the required site. The risk of scaring is less than the standard technique but success in the form of re-pigmentation is not very encouraging.

4.c)Autologous melanocyte transplants
The pigment containing skin from one area of the body is surgically shifted to an area where there is no pigment. The success is usually no predictable and the result may more un-acceptable than the base-line. When the cost, the hassle and the risk of surgical complication like scarring and infection are added,  it becomes a fairly risk option to go for.

4.d)Tatooing
Tattooing is used as a camouflage technique, but it is done with artificial pigments which are deposited into the skin, with the help of traditional tattooing needles or by surgical techniques in present scientific era. The accuracy of color match shall depend upon the skill of the person doing it. It will work best for darker skins, and the color may become lighter with the passage of time. There are risks of serious infections spreading through tattooing through traditional methods. Tattooing should only be carried out by certified licensed professional.

Source: http://www.antivitiligo.com/vitiligo-treatment/index.html