Vitiligo Treatment in Amritsar
Vitiligo is a long-term genetic, autoimmune skin condition characterized by irregular pale white patches or spots on the skin due to loss of pigmentation. It affects about 0.5-1% of the population and it can develop in anyone irrespective of their age, gender, race, or ethnicity. But, it has been seen that about half of the people suffering from vitiligo develop the condition before the age of 20 and about 95% before middle age.
Vitiligo is a benign, non-contagious, and non-life-threatening skin concern that can affect any area of the skin, especially on the neck, face, hands, and skin creases. It is mostly noticed in people having brown or black skin. The condition may be stressful for some people and cause embarrassment due to the social stigma attached to it. However, people have the choice to restore the natural/normal skin color of their affected area. But that doesn’t mean they will no longer have a loss of their skin color or experience the recurrence of vitiligo.
For people experiencing vitiligo, they can get it managed with the help of dermatological treatments offered at Dr. Tanreet’s Skin Clinic by the best skin doctor and vitiligo expert in Amritsar. Dr. Tanreet’s can help one to achieve smooth-looking skin by managing vitiligo.
Vitiligo Symptoms
The most obvious indication of vitiligo is the lack of melanin resulting in milky-white spots or patches on the skin with its edges either smooth or irregular. Often, vitiligo appears initially as a pale patch with or without its center being white and gradually changes into a white patch over time. If the affected skin has a lot of blood vessels underlying it, the patch or spot may be slightly pink rather than milky white. Sometimes, the edges of the vitiligo patches are red and inflamed, or they are hyper-pigmented i.e., have brown discoloration.
Typically, it is seen on the sun-exposed body parts including feet, face, hands, legs, and arms, or the sites where the shoes and clothing constantly rub on the skin. Most commonly, the skin areas affected by vitiligo include armpits, eyes and mouth, wrists and fingers, genitals, and groins. Rarely, it develops on the scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or beard (of men) by turning the hair of the affected areas either grey or white. The loss of color is even seen in the mucous membranes i.e., the tissues lining the nose and inside of the mouth.
Vitiligo patches or depigmentation sites may occasionally itch especially during active stages. However, the condition is not the same for all. Some individuals only get a few, small white patches while others may have bigger white patches that may join with one another and spread to larger areas of the skin.
Those experiencing these symptoms can get in touch with the best vitiligo treatment doctor in Amritsar at Dr. Tanreet’s Skin Clinic.
Types of Vitiligo
Non-Segmental/Bilateral/Generalized Vitiligo
It is the most common type affecting 9 in 10 people suffering from vitiligo. It is a condition where the discolored patches often appear symmetrically i.e., progress similarly on many corresponding body parts. This can be seen on the arms, back of the hands, knees, feet, elbows, and the skin around the body openings like the eyes.
Segmental/Unilateral/Localized/Focal Vitiligo
In this type of vitiligo, white patches show up only on the part or side of the body. This tends to develop in children, progress for about a year or two, and then stop. Usually, it affects 3 in 10 children with vitiligo.
Universal Vitiligo
It is a condition wherein nearly the entire body i.e., all skin surface appears discolored/depigmented.
Acrofacial Vitiligo
With this type, the affected skin is the hands and face, and around the nose, eyes, and ears-different body openings.
At Dr. Tanreet’s Skin Clinic, a vitiligo treatment clinic in Amritsar, all the advanced treatment options for managing all types of vitiligo are offered by the skin expert Dr. Tanreet’s. One can consult him to know more about their treatment options.
Causes, Risk Factors, and Triggers of Vitiligo
The precise reason behind the development of vitiligo is still under research. Melanocytes are the specialized skin cells responsible for producing melanin – the pigment which imparts unique color to our skin. Dermatologists believe that vitiligo (especially generalized type) is an autoimmune condition where the patients have weak or improperly functioning immune systems attacking the healthy melanocytes of the skin. Due to death or improper working of melanocytes to produce melanin, white patches appear on the skin. Sometimes, vitiligo is also associated with hyperthyroidism – another autoimmune condition.
It is believed that segmental vitiligo is caused by neurochemicals that are released by the skin’s nerve endings and are poisonous to melanocytes.
People are at a high risk of developing non-segmental vitiligo if:
- They have a genetic tendency towards the condition which means either other family members have some condition or other autoimmune conditions associated with vitiligo.
- They have different types of cancers like non-hodgkin lymphoma and melanoma.
- They experience certain genetic changes that make them more susceptible to generalized vitiligo.
Furthermore, vitiligo can be triggered by particular events, such as:
- Skin damage/trauma like severe cuts or sunburn.
- Skin exposure to certain chemicals like in industrial or factory jobs.
- Physical/ emotional stress or stressful life events.
Vitiligo Treatment Options offered in Amritsar at Dr. Traneet's Skin Clinic
Vitiligo treatment is usually considered by people if it’s severe, causing any discomfort, and making the person unhappy. It is done to reduce the appearance of white/depigmented patches but one must know that it cannot stop its spread. The choice of the treatment depends upon multiple factors such as the speed of progression of the disease, age, area of the skin covered, and its impact on quality of life.
Topical Therapy
For small patches, skin camouflage creams are recommended by Dr. Tanreet’s, vitiligo expert in Amritsar that can help hide their appearance, corticosteroid creams that control inflammation can restore the skin pigment to some extent, and calcineurin inhibitor ointments can act on the immune system and effectively return the lost skin color.
UVA & UVB Therapies
This includes phototherapy with narrow band UVB light for 2-3 times a week which can take 6 months or longer for full results to be achieved with noticeable desired changes seen in about 1-3 months of the treatment. Another option to restore the color to light skin patches is combining psoralen (taken by mouth) and UVA light therapy.
Depigmentation
If the vitiligo is widespread and no other treatment works, depigmentation therapy can be done to remove pigmentation from remaining unaffected skin areas. This is done 1-2 times a day for 9 months or longer.
Vitiligo Surgery
Patients with stable vitiligo condition (that fails to be treated in all other ways) can even out their skin tone by restoring its color using the following techniques:
- Skin grafting: It involves the removal and transfer of small sections of healthy, pigmented skin to depigmented sites using a scalpel.
- Blister grafting: This procedure involves the creation of blisters on the affected areas usually with suction and then transplantation of their top areas to the discolored skin.
Cellular suspension transplant (repigmentation): In this treatment, the doctor excises some tissue from the pigmented skin, places the cell in a suspension in the laboratory, and then transfers the cells to the prepared discolored skin area. The result is noticed within 4 weeks of the transplantation.