Vitiligo is just a skin disorder that causes patches of white skin to appear on various areas of the body. It can occur in anyone, and affects all races and both genders equally. Global, about 100 million people suffer from this problem and its own prevalence in the united states is estimated to be around 1%.
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What Cases Vitiligo?
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In vitiligo, the cells responsible for giving the skin's its color (the melanocytes) are destroyed, hence the appearance of white patches. There might be several factors that will cause these cells to be destroyed, and sometimes the actual cause is not known. It is believed that vitiligo may be an autoimmune infection, that causes the immunity system to begin attacking the melanocytes. It can also arise due to a disorder in the melanocytes themselves, causing them to trigger pathways that end up in 'cell suicide'. Some researchers also believe that sunburn and chronic stress could cause vitiligo.
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Symptoms of Vitiligo
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The main apparent symptoms of vitiligo are white patches on the skin. These patches usually spread and be larger as time passes. The rate of spreading is highly variable - many people report extremely swift spreading during the others they spread slowly over a long period. These patches tend to be found mostly on the areas which can be exposed to sunlight, including the hands, feet, face and across the lips. However , they're also commonly found in the armpits and groin, at the navel, in the genital area, and at the nostrils. Additionally , people who have vitiligo often suffer with early graying of the hair.
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Diagnosis of Vitiligo
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White patches of skin are tell-tale signs of vitiligo, but you can find other factors that confirm this diagnosis. Included in these are whether the patient features a parent who suffers from vitiligo, whether autoimmune diseases run in the family, and perhaps the patient experienced grey hair before the age of 35. Sometimes, a biopsy and a blood test is likely to be used to eliminate other medical conditions.
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How is Vitiligo Treated?
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Treatment for vitiligo continues to be a highly-researched and changing area. Treatment is determined by the extent of the condition, and also just how much the individual can afford, as much treatments are generally very expensive. In addition , even the most specialized treatments are not always effective and are associated with a quantity of negative effects.
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Usually, one of the first treatment plans recommended is steroid therapy and/or immunomodulators. But both these pharmaceutical treatments can only be utilized for the short term and so are notoriously ineffective and suffer with a high incidence of unwanted effects. Still another treatment option involves the use of ultraviolet light coupled with medications. Nevertheless , this calls for bi- or tri- weekly visits to a specialized clinic for weeks or months, is very expensive, and side effects include eye damage and an elevated threat of skin cancer.
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Another treatment option involves surgical skin grafting, but sometimes this causes skin upheaval that ultimately ends up aggravating vitiligo even more. For really small patches of white skin, tattoos are occasionally used to cover these up.
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It is interesting to notice that as soon as the 1980's, medical researchers had reported they cured folks of vitiligo using herbal extracts, mega doses of vitamins or even a mix of herbs and vitamins. Several such reports were also published in the 1990s; like there is several Swedish health practitioners who cured patients of these vitiligo in only 3 weeks only using vitamin supplementation. However , in these times such research has been hidden both from the average man or woman and from the scientific community itself. This is because there clearly was money involved in the more costly treatments, as well as vitiligo makes up about a big chunk of the pharmaceutical and medical industry's annual revenue. Medical practioners who learn about the natural cures for vitiligo wont mention it as this can cause them to overlook thousands from each patient. Worse, young medical practioners may never know about the natural alternative, as this research has been removed from all modern medical textbooks. Know more about Vitiligo natural treatment
Author Resource:
The author writes for one of the top Vitiligo Treatment Websites. She is also a contributor of the website Alternative Medicine , alternative medicine is a holistic treatment rather than a treatment aimed at suppressing the symptoms.
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