Diseases | Adult's Health | Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a skin disorder in which the cells that make melanin pigment (melanocytes) are destroyed. The destruction results in the appearance of white patches on the skin. Vitiligo can occur at any age, but usually occurs before the age of 20 in about 50% of patients.
There are five main types of vitiligo, which are based upon the location of the white patches and the pattern of involvement: focal, generalized, acrofacial, segmental and universal.
Focal Vitiligo – minimal involvement with only one or a very few white patches scattered on the skin
Generalized Vitiligo – the most common type with symmetrical patches on any location on the skin including the trunk and/or extremities
Acrofacial Vitiligo – white patches limited to the fingers and around the mouth and eyes
Segmental Vitiligo – white patches on one side of the body and in a linear or line-like distribution (dermatome)
Universal vitiligo – Widespread patches involving almost the entire body
The cause of vitiligo is not well understood. It is believed to be an autoimmune, disorder which means that certain blood cells in your body, lymphocytes, turn against and attack the melanocytes. Another theory is that vitiligo is caused by an interaction between the body’s nerve cells and melanocytes.Vitiligo may be associated with other immune disorders. They include Addison disease (an adrenal gland disorder), alopecia areata, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, parathyroid disease, melanoma, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (yeast infection), pernicious anemia, and uveitis (eye disorder).
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.