vitiligo

i am patient of vitiligo , it appears nearly 7 years before after my second delievery. i am using medicine bt they are not very effective, there are small white patches on my whole body and they become more in summer .  i m very worry plz tell me some treatment?plz plz

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed.The exact cause is not known but a genetic or hereditary predisposition has been seen. Children whose parents have the disorder are more likely to develop vitiligo but pls don’t worry as the no. of such cases are very less.

Treatment options include steroids,psoralen photochemotherapy(PUVA),depigmentation and surgical therapy like skin grafting,micropigmentation or tattooing and autologous melanocyte transplants.However the choice of therapy depends on the number of white patches; their location, sizes, and how widespread they are and the option that is convenient to you.I would suggest  you to discuss these options with a dermatologist.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts.Kind regards.

[my_own]

It appears from your note that your white patches are not stable. I'd like to share my experience with you, hoping it might provide you with some suitable info...

I have had vitiligo for over the past 15 years. Over this span of time, I have tried treatments from Homeopathy and Elopathy, of course one at a time. These included treatments from a variety of doctors and while some could reduce the growth, others just worsened it.

From the doc I last consulted, I learnt two things worth sharing--
1. Vitiligo is a condition whose exact cause can't be determined. So various docs try out treatments based on their previous experiences, and the success of these depends on study as well as expertise. It's all about trying out the right treatment, and it can take us quite some time to find the right medication.
2. In some treatments, doctors can cure it completely through medicines, while in other cases, they try to make it stable and once stable, they complete the procedure with a surgery such as grafting . I too did undergo a similar surgery last year and seem to be pretty ok now..
;
So, do consult some other doc if your current treatment is not working out and has been on the trial for quite some time, atleast for one or two years.