Is there any effective cure for vitiligo?

There are various options for treatment. But they all should be done with specialized doctor's recommendations. Purchasing them on our own and using them is not at all suggested.

1. There are many creams and ointments. But they are available only on a doctor's prescription. There will be side effects also. So a doctor's advice is needed for this.

2. Photochemotherapy: UV radiation is applied in the places where the body id effected. This treatment with some medication from natural products is also there which has given good results.
3. Skin Lightening: This process decolorizes the unaffected skin of your body so that the whole body will appear uniform. This is the last resort only after trying all other methods. In this process, some depigmenting creams are to be applied to the skin once or twice a day.
4. Laser Treatment: High powered beams will be used to reduce the patches affected by vitiligo.
5. Skin grafting: If the patches are smaller, by taking out the skin from other places grafting can be carried out.
6. Micropigmentation: It is a special treatment where the implantation of new pigment will be done for the affected areas on the body.
7. Blister grafting: It is another technique used to transplant a small portion of skin.
8. There are treatments available with herbal products also.

A single treatment may not give proper results. You should consult a good dermatologist and take his advice and follow the treatment as per the directions given by him. Your food habits are to be changed and follow the diet prescribed by the doctor. Meanwhile, there are some creams available to apply. They can be tried. But please ensure that your husband will follow the doctor properly.

The role of melanin is to provide natural colour to the skin. Due to absence of melanin in certain region in the body, the skin develops white patches such as discolouration of the skin. Such discolouration is more visible to the black - coloured people. We can take some preventive measures against this disease. Some home - remedies are listed below -
1) Avoid stress - Even though Vitiligo is not caused by stress, it can act as a triggering factor. So to combat this, take a tea - spoon of Aswagandha- powder of any reputed pharmacy along with warm milk after the dinner. Regular consumption of this herb nightly for at least 40 days will eliminate the discolouration of the skin. Moreover, it will produce sound sleep due to presence of calcium, magnesium in it.
2) Papaya - Drink Papaya - juice regularly to replenish the body of melanin cells lost as a result of vitiligo.
3) Application of Ginger - juice and Red - clay- Red Clay is rich in copper content. Add a tablespoon of Ginger- juice to the two tablespoons of Red - clay. Apply this concoction to the White- patches regularly twice in a day so as to streamline the blood - flow in the region of patches. This will tone up the skin colour.
4) Consumption of water kept in a copper vessel - Drinking water stored in the copper- vessel will enhance melanin in the body and would reduce vitiligo.
5) Basil - leaves - Basil - leaves are known for its antiviral properties. Mixing Basil leaves with Lime - juice and applying the same on the affected part can stimulate the production of melanin cells on the skin. Apply the mixture of Basil - juice and Lemon - juice by taking both in equal amount on the affected part regularly for better results against vitiligo.
6) Abundant intake of Vitamin -C such as Lemons, Oranges, Grape - fruits may lessen the discolouration of the skin and hence such fruits should be consumed regularly when such fruits are available. Vitamin C is available in Strawberry, Kiwi and Broccoli and intake of these items would be benificial in case of vitiligo.
7) Turmeric - Turmeric is the effective remedy for vitiligo. Turmeric along with Mustard- oil can stimulate the pigmentation of the skin. Apply the mixture of Turmeric - powder and Mustard - oil for 20 minutes on the affected area twice daily for the positive results. Curcumin available in the Turmeric patches up the discolouration of the skin.

Vitilago is a skin condition in which skin's melanocytes i.e. melanin producing cells dies off. These cells produces pigments and gives colour to skin. They also protect skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Vitilago is not contagious and it's exact cause is also not known. It is believed that it may be due to an autoimmune disease.
There is no 100% cure of vitilago, but some of the treatment can effectively reduce its spread or matches colour of patches with normal skin colour.

Common treatment: These treatment should be taken under supervision of expert.
1. Phototherapy with Ultraviolet B light:
In this treatment, affected skin is exposed to ultraviolet B light. If only small area is affected then it can also be done at home using ultraviolet B lamp.
But if very large white spots are covering over body, full body treatment is done in a hospital.

2.phototherapy with Ultraviolet A light:
In this treatment firstly skin sensitivity is increased by taking a drug. Thereafter, skin exposed to UVA light.

3. Photochemotherapy:
In this therapy Ultraviolet A is combined with Psoralen a plant based medication. This treatment is 85% effective and used to treat white areas on head, neck, arms, legs and trunk.

4. Laser treatment:
In this treatment, outer layer of skin is removed by using high powered beams.

5. Depigmentation:
It is used when vitilago covers 50% or more of the body. In this treatment some strong lotions or creams are applied on unaffected skin areas to match the colour with affected areas. This is permanent treatment and takes a year or more.

6. Skin grafting:
In this treatment normal skin patches are removed and grafted on to affected area. It is done surgically and not very common.

7. Blister grafting:
In this case, blisters are developed in normal skin by using suction and then these are removed and grafted on to the affected areas.

8. Micropigmentation: it is kind of tattooing.

9. Use of corticosteroids ointments:
Application of corticosteroids on white areas can effectively stop the spread further. It should not be used on face.

Home remedies: These can be take at home.
1. Use of sunscreen: A suitable sunscreen can protect skin from sunburn
2. Ginkgo biloba: it has anti inflammatory effect.
3. Intake of Vitamin C, folic acid, beta carotene, amino acids and certain minerals like Zinc, copper and iron.
4. Reduced sun exposure
5. Application of mixture of lemon and sweet basil
6. Application of mixture of mustard oil and turmeric

Vitiligo is a condition of the skin disorder and in it the skin starts to lose its colour at places which slowly increase in numbers and cover up the many places in patches on the skin. These patches are more sensitive to the sunlight than the other normal places on the skin and is called as photosensitive areas also. It is a disorder of unknown aetiology which means that its cause is not known but it can be triggered by the autoimmune disorders in the human beings which is generally responsible for the destruction of melanocytes which are the colour attributes in the human skins. Other probable causes for manifestation of this disorder are genetic oxidative imbalance, critical sunburn, exposure to certain harmful chemicals, even a virus, stressful events in life etc.

Though there are some cure suggested for this ailment but their effectiveness is not guaranteed and that is why it is considered as a life long condition. It generally affects people after the age of 20-25 years. It is not limited to any particular race, gender or community as anyone can get this disorder. Further, it is not a contagious thing and does not spread from one person to other. Vitiligo is more of a cosmetic challenge in its nature and the modern medical science is underway to find a complete solution for the remission of this condition.

There are many treatment options presently which can be tried under an expert dermatologist who can prescribe the correct treatment based on the general conditions of the patient. Some of them are -

1. Phototherapy with UVB light - It is the most common option where the affected areas are exposed to the ultraviolet light using an ultraviolet B lamp. This can be done in home also as directed by the dermatologist.

2. Phototherapy with UVA light - In this method a drug is given to the patient which increases the patient's sensitivity to the UV light. This is generally conducted in a clinic and a series of exposures are given and the progress can be achieved only after 6-8 months time. It is a long treatment.

3. Skin camouflage - This is a temporary measure to camouflage the skin for a short interval of 12 to 18 hours by application of certain coloured cosmetics. This is basically a makeup method.

4. Depigmentation - It is a method in which some strong topical lotions or ointments like monobenzone, mequinol, or hydroquinone are applied. During this treatment one has to avoid the sunlight. It is a long treatment and can take an year.

5. Topical corticosteroids cream - These are the creams which contain steroids. The limitation of this method is that these are not to be used on the face. In some cases improvement is seen in this treatment. One has to be careful in using steroids and it should be done only under expert professional person.

6. Calcipotriene (Dovonex)/ a form of Vitamin D - This is generally given in combination to the steroids or ultraviolet treatment. The dermatologist will ascertain about the patient before prescribing it as there are known side effects of this drug.

7. Drugs affecting the immune system - Some ointments are there which contain certain chemicals like tacrolimus or pimecrolimus. These drugs are known as calcineurin inhibitors and can help with smaller patches of depigmentation. However, one should consult the expert doctor as these drugs are known to have severe and serious side effect connections to skin carcinoma.

8. Psoralen - This drug is not recommended for the children and is to be used solo or along with the Ultra Violet treatment. It is effective only after a long duration of at least 12 months.

9. Skin grafts - This is not a common procedure and requires an expert surgeon to remove some good skin and graft it to the affected areas. It is time taking and has many complications associated with it.

10. Implanting pigments - In this procedure, surgery is used to implant pigment into the skin at places. It works best around the lips on the face. The only problem comes in the matching of the pigment and another aspect is that it fades away with time.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin that causes disfiguring white spots or patches of skin to lose their color that can appear anywhere on the body. It occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for making skin pigments are destroyed. Vitiligo can occur to people of any age, region or sex and can affect any part of the body.

Some of the treatments for Vitiligo are:
1. Creams and ointments - Creams and ointments are available by prescription only. Corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors are powerful anti-inflammatories that are used to reduce the spread of pigmentation loss, decrease inflammation and to bring your skin natural color. Corticosteroids are used for widespread areas whereas, for small areas, Calcineurin inhibitors can be used. Some of the side effects of this treatment are that it can cause lymphoma or skin cancer and thinning of the skin.

2. Light therapy (Photochemotherapy ) - This is one of the most effective and oldest treatments for vitiligo. In this,
treatments controlled exposure to ultraviolet rays B (UVB) light is used to correct discoloration. Sometimes UVA therapy is combined with a plant-based medication called psoralen called PUVA. The medication is taken orally or applied to smaller areas of affected skin. The depigmented skin is exposed to UVB light several times a week, either in a clinic or at home. and for PUVA treatments, it needs to be repeated up to three times a week for at least six months. The PUVA treatments are said to be 85% effective.

3. Skin grafting - It is used when Light therapy doesn't work and you have smaller skin patches. In this treatment, a small part of your skin from one area not affected by vitiligo is removed and surgically implanting it to areas of affect area. Skin grafting has complications like the affected patches may fail to regain pigment.

4. Ginkgo biloba - It is not a mainstream treatment but used as an alternative remedy for vitiligo treatment. It is a herbal treatment.

5. Home remedies - Some of the home remedies for the vitiligo is:
- A mixture of lemon and sweet basil extract
- A mixture of turmeric and mustard oil
- Taking immune system-boosting foods that contain phytochemicals, beta-carotene, and antioxidants like banana, apples, dates, figs, chickpeas, lettuce, carrot, beetroot, radish, etc.
- Adding minerals like copper (drinking a glass of water out of a copper cup), iron(eating food that was cooked in a cast-iron vessel) and zinc(via a supplement) in our daily intake.