Vitiligo (often called as leucoderma) is a disorder where the skin loses its color in patches of irregular shapes and sizes. This is a pigmentation disorder which means that melanocytes (the pigment producing cells) in the skin get destroyed. This results in development of white patches on the skin.
The hairs which are growing in that area may loose their color and turn gray. This disorder also leads to psychological issues relating to appearances and at times in certain individuals (mainly the adolescents and the young) this stress can take enormous proportions particularly if Vitiligo develops on visible areas of the body, such as the face, hands, arms, feet, or on the genitals. They develop very strong emotions of being embarrassed, depressed, or worried about how others will react.
What causes Vitiligo?
The cause for Vitiligo is not very clear but doctors and researchers are beginning to believe that Vitiligo resembles an autoimmune disorder. Which means that the pigment (the matter that gives colour to our skin) producing cells of the skin are destroyed by the body?s own antibodies (defense cells).
In some cases it has been observed that the onset of Vitiligo is related to a psychologically stressful event in the patient?s life. People with a family history of Vitiligo are more prone to develop these white patches. Ninety five percent of all those who develop Vitiligo, start developing symptoms before their 40th year of their life.
Other factors that have been found to be more common with those suffering from Vitiligo are presence of other autoimmune disorders, history of sunburns, rashes and other skin disorders and hair turning grey before the age of thirty five.
What are the symptoms and how does it spread?
People with Vitiligo develop white patches on their skin of irregular shapes and sizes. Vitiligo is more common on the exposed areas for example hands face, neck and arms. It also occurs on covered areas too: - like genitals, breast and legs. In some patients the hair may also turn grey early and in the inside of the mouth, white discoloration may also occur.
The spread of Vitiligo cannot be determined. It may stop completely after the first patch but often these patches do spread. For some patients further development may takes years and for others the large areas can be covered in months. In some patients mental stress has been seen to increase the growth of these white patches.
How effective is homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy is able to give wonderful and miraculous cures in many cases of Vitiligo. This is due to the fact that homoeopathic treatment enhances the natural production of pigments. According to homoeopathic philosophy Vitiligo not a disease in itself but an expression of an inner disturbed state of the body. Thus, the cure should occur at a level where things have gone wrong. In order to archive this, the patient is analyzed on various aspects of mental and physical and familial attributes and also a complete study is done on the psychological-environment that the patient has gone through in his life. The prescription is then based at the deepest level of understanding of the patient?s disturbed inner force. Although many homoeopathic medicines Arsenic Sulph Falvus, Arsenic Album , Baryta Mur and Baryta Carb are known to give good results in Vitiligo; I would again reiterate the fact that real cure of Vitiligo occurs when the prescription is made according to the true principles of homoeopathic philosophy i.e. treating that ?deep causative factor ? which caused this inner disturbance. Also remember that Vitiligo is a chronic disorder and can take considerable time even with the best of the homoeopathic treatment, for it to be completely cured.