vitiligo cures

I am a 26 year old male and I have vitiligo.  I feel lost and not sure where to go and who to trust about treating my desease.  Is there a cure for vitiligo?  If anyone could please steer me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Vitiligo is a condition in which your skin loses melanin. This occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin causing slowly enlarging white patches of irregular shapes to appear on the skin.

However, there is no cure for vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss. Using sunscreen and applying cosmetic camouflage cream  may help improve the appearance of the skin.Medical treatments for vitiligo aim to even out skin tone, either by restoring color or destroying the remaining color.
This link may be helpful: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitiligo/DS00586/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

Joining support groups may help you cope up with having this condition. One such link is : http://www.vitiligosupport.org/

Take care and regards.

[JoolieB]

Hi Joey,
I am 50 years old and have had vitiligo since I was 13. It's extensive and most obvious over the summer months when I tan. I'm caucasian so that helps, but not much. I'm lucky that over the years my face patches have become less pronounced. They have also gotten larger.

When I first got vitiligo, back in 1971, most dermatologists did not know what it was. We saw several doctors before one could diagnosis it. I treated it with Tripsoralen at first, but found exposure to the sun had the same effect. Every summer some of my pigment returns, and every winter it goes away again. Now it's so much a part of me I'm not sure I would try an experimental treatment. I am very much reconciled to how it looks. Over time you will too. It's no different than redheads with freckles.