Vitiligo

Wh

at is vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a condition that causes depigm

entation of patches of skin. It occurs w

hen m

elanocytes (the cells responsible for skin pigm

entation) die or are unable to function.

Vitiligo is also called w

hite spot disease and leukoderm

a.

Wh

at cau

ses vitiligo?

The cause of vitiligo is unknow

n, but research suggests that it m

ay arise from

autoimm

une, genetic, oxidative stress, neural, or vital causes.

Tanning also causes vitiligo!

Signs

and

Sym

pto

ms

The main sign of vitiligo

is pigment loss that

produces milky-w

hite patches on your skin.

Other less com

mon signs

include:-P

remature

whitening or graying of the

hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrow

s or beard.

-Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your m

outh (m

ucous mem

branes).-Loss or change

in the color of the inner layer of your eye (retina).

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Wha

t is the treatm

ent for 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 in the doctor's office. This therapy is called PUVA. When psoralen drugs are activated by the light, they stimulate repigmentation by increasing the availability of color-producing cells at the skin's surface.

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.

Vitil

igo's Em

otional Im

pact

Many individuals w

ith vitiligo becom

e distressed because of their appearance. This can in turn be bad for the affected individual because stress can cause m

ore vitiligo spots to appear.

Qu

ick

Facts

Vitiligo affects both

sexes and all races, but is often m

ore noticeable and m

ore disfiguring in people w

ith darker skin.

Vitiligo usually starts as

small areas of pigm

ent loss that spread and becom

e larger with

time.

Half of people w

ith vitiligo develop patches of depigm

ented skin appearing on extrem

ities before their 20s.

Sm

all areas of vitiligo m

ay repigment as

melanocytes appear.

Sources

Information

http://ww

w.derm

alight80.com/disease-vitiligo.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/w

iki/Vitiligo

http://ww

w.vitiligoguide.com

/vitiligo-skin/

http://vitiligo-vitilem.eu/?lang=en

Http://w

isegeek.com/w

hat-is-vitiligo.htm

http://ww

w.healthcentral.com

/encyclopedia/408/255.htm

l Pictureshttp://healthfiles.net/disease/vitiligo/

http://effectivevitiligotreatment.blogspot.com/

http://vitiligo-vitilem.eu/?lang=en

http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/vitiligo.html

http://www.vitiligoskindisorder.com/more/vitiligo/

http://www.vitiligos.com/people-with-vitiligo/famous-people/