What is vitiligo and what is the reason for vitiligo?

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease which causes loss of colour from areas of the skin leading to white spots or patches. It affects about 0.5 to 1% of the population. The precise reason for development of vitiligo is still not clear.

Is there any specific age for development of vitiligo?

Vitiligo can develop at any age but more than 50% patients develop it before the age of 20 and about 90% patients develop it before the age of 40 years.

Is vitiligo contagious?

Vitiligo is not a contagious skin disorder and it does not spread by touch or close contact.

Is vitiligo genetic ? What is the risk of my children developing vitiligo if I have got vitiligo?

Vitiligo may have a genetic component but it is not a purely genetic condition. Only about 20% of patients with vitiligo have a positive family history of this disease. In case one of the parents has got this condition then the risk of children developing vitiligo is only about 5%.

Are there any specific tests for the diagnosis of vitiligo?

No tests are needed for the diagnosis of Vitiligo. It is a clinical diagnosis which means that the doctor will examine and assess the patient and make the diagnosis.

What are the precautions that are needed in diet for patients of vitiligo?

There are no dietary restrictions for patients of vitiligo. The common misconception that sour food is to be avoided does not hold true at all. Patients of vitiligo are free to consume all sorts of food items.

What are the different types of Vitiligo?

There are different types of vitiligo. Lip vitiligo is a common form which causes whitening of the lower lip. The lip tip variant of vitiligo affects the lip along with tips of fingers and toes and sometimes the nipple area and the genital area as well. Segmental vitiligo is another variant which affects only one half of the body and does not go on to involve the other half of the body.

What are the medical treatment options available for vitiligo?

Since vitiligo is an autoimmune disease, doctors use medicines which suppress body’s immunity called immunosuppressive drugs. These may include oral steroids and other immunosuppressive medicines like azathioprine, methotrexate etc.

What is phototherapy treatment and is it dangerous?

Photo therapy is a form of light therapy in which specific wavelength of UV B light is used to stimulate the body’s cells to produce skin colour. This is a very safe and one of the most advanced forms of treatment for vitiligo with no risk of skin cancer. In fact this is one of the few treatments that is considered very safe even in very young children.

How many sessions of phototherapy are required in a week and how long is each session of phototherapy?

A single session of phototherapy may last from 5 to 10 minutes. Typically photo therapy sessions are done 2 to 3 times a week depending on the extent of the disease.

Are there any surgical options for vitiligo ? When can I opt for surgery for vitiligo?

There are plenty of surgical options available for vitiligo. One can opt for surgery when the medical line of treatment is no longer working. Generally we give a trial of 6 to 12 months for medical line of therapy before taking the patient up for surgery. One of the prerequisites before taking the patient up for surgery is that the disease should be stable which means that there should be no new patches of Vitiligo for the past 6 to 9 months.

What are the different surgical options available for vitiligo?

There are different surgical options available for vitiligo. These are:

Punch grafting: this is one of the oldest and one of the most commonly performed surgery. Small pieces or punches of skin are taken from the thigh and these are transplanted on to the white patch.

Split thickness skin grafting: In this technique a thin layer of the skin is taken from the thigh which is then transplanted on to the white patch after removing the upper layers of the skin. It requires a greater degree of surgical expertise.

Melanocyte cell suspension surgery: In this technique, melanocyte cells are removed from the skin taken from thigh and these cells are then transplanted on to the vitiligo patch. This technique can cover large areas of white patches in one session itself.

For more details, Contact our experienced skin doctor at Talwar skin centre, Lucknow.