vitiligo

[akash1930]

dear sir,
           i am 24 years old.My father is attacked by leukoderma for the last 7 years.Is there any possibility to attack by the vitiligo of mine...what preventive measures should i take now........please inform me.......plz

[KixNgo]

Contrary to popular belief, Vitiligo is NOT treatable, preventable nor is it something to have to need treatment, it's NOT contagious, or life threatening,
I have had Vitiligo since I was 6yrs old, I have it all over my body, yep, when I was young, kids can be very cruel, and even now, some adults are inept at niceness.. (once I had two grown women in a restaurant I was at, on the way into the bathroom look at me as if I had leprosy and one said "I tried not to touch her!", so on the way out of the bathroom, I fake coughed and ran my arm on her)  my friends with me, couldn’t stop laughing.

Our family went to an amusement park, and in line children stare, they can't help it, but being children they don’t ask, so when I see it, I explain in simple terms, its called Vitiligo, its not contagious, its just they way my skin is, and offer them to feel the skin as it feels the same as any other skin.. some felt it, and ask more questions, some just say 'oh' and stop staring, either way, I have taught them, and now they know.
Education IS the key.

THIS IS ME, like it or not.. I have 2 grown children who thru growing up with a mom who was 'different' have much respect for others who are different in anyway or form. They even played at the park with conjoined twin girls, never once stared, or thought any different of them (two heads one body, seen on tv))

If they see someone else with Vitiligo, they smile and wave, maybe even tell them their mom has Vitiligo as well. My white spots move around and change, last year I had one looked like a heart on my tummy, this year I have twin spots about the size of hands on my shoulders, my friend says "it where my angel wings were" I also have a white patch of hair, and a few white eyelashes.

The only time I ever had any of the white spots fill in color, was when I was pregnant with my son, my knees completely filled in, after I had him, they went back to white.. I think they should start looking towards hormones as a cause or explanation. But as for treating Vitiligo?, don’t we all take enough medicines Rx as well as herbal already as it is?
Do we really need to add another, just to make those who are uneducated in it feel better?
=) Always carry and apply sunscreen, feel good about yourself, and others will follow..
Have a great day..
Carla

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

ow are you? Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes inside of the mouth and nose and the retina of the eyes. The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white.

The cause of vitiligo is not known. The most widely accepted view is that the depigmentation occurs because vitiligo is an autoimmune disease-a disease in which a person's immune system reacts against the body's own organs or tissues. Vitiligo may also be hereditary or  can run in families. Children whose parents have the disorder are more likely to develop vitiligo. In fact, 30 percent of people with vitiligo have a family member with the disease. Take care and regards.