HYRS

Vitiligo is a disease where the skin loses the pigment that gives it colour, and white patches start appearing on the skin surface. The precise reasons for the development of Vitiligo, are yet to be identified. Vitiligo is chronic and this has made completely healing it difficult, but some Vitiligo treatments do offer a temporary or cosmetic cure.

Phototherapy, which artificially tans the skin through limited ultraviolet radiation, is a frequently used Vitiligo treatment. The patient is required to use a substance called Psoralen either orally or by soaking the treatment area with it and the UVA rays are then directed at the affected area to stimulate melanocytes, the melanin producing cells.

As explained at the vitiligo treatments website, skin grafting is also considered as one of the better treatments. This is a surgical way of re-pigmentation the skin. In this treatment, a melanocyte graft is used to replace the white patch so that the pigmentation process can be restarted.

Sometimes the disease ends up affecting almost the entire span of the patients skin. In such cases, artificial de-pigmentation of unaffected skin is an option. White patches cannot be distinguished from the normal skin after this treatment, which is cosmetically a better alternative for most patients. However, this is an extreme measure and it should be considered as a last resort.

Alternative Vitiligo treatments based on natural therapies are also available. These include use of substances like Ginkgo biloba and peppermint oil. The white patches can also be covered using cosmetics specially made for the purpose.

Even though a lot of research is still required to identify the true causes of this skin disorder, these Vitiligo treatments can offer both long and short-term relief to the patients. A permanent cure for the disease cannot be too far away with the rapid growth that is taking place in biotechnology today.