Top ten ways to Get Rid of White Patches on Skin, Vitiligo

In medical terms, white patches on the skin are known as vitiligo. This can appear on different body parts including the hands, feet, arms, legs, face, lips, and around the eyes and mouth.

The exact cause of this skin condition is still unknown. Experts believe that it could be an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system itself attacks the melanocytes or melanin-producing cells.

Gaone Tlhong

Other causes that can contribute to this problem are a genetic predisposition, overexposure to sunrays, excessive stress, and vitamin B12 deficiency.

White patches on skin can also be caused by superficial fungal infections like tinea versicolor, eczema, psoriasis, or other skin conditions.

Irrespective of the cause, the problem tends to be embarrassing and could be killing your self confidence. But don’t lose heart as there are some natural remedies that you can try at home to deal with this problem. Moreover, at times it tends to resolve on its own.

Here are the top 10 ways to get rid of white patches on the skin. Also, consult your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

1. Babchi

Babchi or Psoralea corylifolia is considered an effective Ayurvedic remedy for hypopigmentation. Its active components help reduce white patches on skin. It also has antipsoriatic properties that help treat psoriasis.

• Soak babchi (also known as bakuchi) seeds in ginger juice for three day. Make sure to replace the ginger juice every day. Then, remove the husks by rubbing the seeds between your hands, dry them in the sun and grind them to a fine powder. Consume one gram or about one-fifth of a teaspoon of this powder with a glass of milk daily for 40 days. You can also apply this power topically.
• Another option is to apply babchi oil on the affected skin areas and expose to sunlight for about 15 minutes (start with a short duration of sun exposure to check if the response is favorable). You can also use a combination of black seed oil and babchi oil.

2. Ginkgo Biloba

Research indicates that ginkgo biloba can help treat vitiligo because of its antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. It can help reduce the progression of the disease and also induce repigmentation.

The general dosage is 40 to 80 mg of ginkgo biloba, three times a day. To help determine the proper dosage and suitability of this herb for you, consult your doctor.

3. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil soothes the skin and heals chronic inflammation. It helps in the treatment of vitiligo because it promotes repigmentation of the skin. Plus, it has antifungal and antibacterial benefits.

Simply apply extra-virgin coconut oil on the white patches two to three times a day at least for a few weeks.

4. Ginger

According to Chinese herbalism, ginger can be used as an excellent natural remedy for vitiligo. It improves blood circulation and helps with melanin production.

• Place a freshly cut slice of ginger root on the affected area. Leave it on until the ginger dries. Do this once or twice daily for a few weeks or until you see improvement.
• You can also extract the juice from one large ginger root and a handful of fresh mint leaves. Drink it daily for a few weeks.

5. Copper

Copper is believed to help aid in the production of melanin. It is believed that copper is required by the enzyme tyrosinase which in turn is required for the synthesis of melanin pigment from tyrosine.

1. Pour drinking water in a copper pot or a copper vessel and let it sit overnight at room temperature. (Do not put this water in a refrigerator as it can destroy its properties and make it less effective.)
2. In the morning, the water will be infused with copper ions that aid the production of melanin.
3. Drink this water on an empty stomach every morning.

6. Red Clay

Red clay, too, has high copper content that can help restore skin pigment and get rid of white patches.

1. Mix equal amounts of red clay and ginger juice.
2. Apply this paste on the affected areas
3. Leave it on until it dries completely and then wash it off.
4. Repeat daily for a few months.

7. Radish Seeds

Radish Seeds

Applying a paste of ground radish seeds and vinegar is popular Ayurvedic remedy for white patches on skin caused by vitiligo or leukoderma.

1. Grind about 25 grams of radish seeds into a coarse powder.
2. ix it with two teaspoons of vinegar to make a paste.
3. Apply this paste on the affected area for 30 minutes, and then rinse it off with lukewarm water.
4. Do this daily for a few months.

8. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar

The antimicrobial properties of apple cider vinegar can destroy the fungi that could be causing white patches on your skin. It is also believed to help with low stomach acid associated with vitiligo.

• Mix equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water. Use this mixture to wash the affected skin twice a day. Do this daily for about a month. The white spots will start changing color and the problem will disappear soon.
• Also, drink a glass of water mixed with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily before meals.

9. Turmeric

Turmeric

Turmeric is another ingredient that can be used to get rid of white skin patches. A mixture of turmeric and mustard oil is considered particularly beneficial in this regard.

• Mix five teaspoons of turmeric powder with 250 milliliters or about one cup of mustard oil. Apply this mixture to discolored areas of your skin. Follow this remedy twice daily for about a year for the most effective outcome.
• Another option is to make a paste of turmeric and neem leaves. Apply it on the affected area. The antiseptic property of this mixture makes this a good option if the problem is caused by some kind of infection.

10. Neem

Neem leaves

Neem is excellent for treating skin problems. It is also believed to help restore skin pigmentation. When taken internally, it also works as a good blood purifier and immune booster.

• Mix some crushed neem leaves and enough buttermilk to make a paste. Apply it on your white patches and leave it on until it dries completely. Finally, wash it off. Do this daily at least for a few weeks.
• Another option is to daily apply neem oil on your skin after diluting it. So, you can mix a few drops of neem oil in one teaspoon of coconut oil or any other carrier oil and then apply.
• You can also drink neem juice or take this herb in supplement form daily for a few months. Another option is to eat four neem leaves three times a day, preferably before meals.

In addition to these remedies, pay attention to your diet. For instance, those suffering from vitiligo are suggested to avoid fruits like berries because they contain hydroquinone which works as a a natural depigmenting agent.

As vitiligo is often associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, you can include cabbage, spinach, dried beans, dried figs, walnuts, chickpeas, and other foods rich in vitamin B12, folic acid, and zinc. However, avoid non-vegetarian foods, especially red meat and seafood.

Resources:

http://www.top10homeremedies.com/

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/11/21

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9394983

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3221203/

NB. The information shared on this blog isn't endorsed as correct and we are not medical practitioners. Any home remedies or suggested medication isn't endorsed by Beyond Vitiligo. For further information on the skin condition please consult your dermatologist.

Vitiligo Treatments

by Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, MD , Ph.D

Myths About Vitiligo Treatment

Three myths about the treatment of vitiligo prevail in the medical profession.

The first myth is that treatment of vitiligo is "impossible." This is clearly not true and the majority of patients can achieve good results.

The second myth is that oral psoralens, which form the basis for some vitiligo treatments are "toxic to the liver." Oral psoralens are not toxic to the liver.

The third myth is that psoralen + UVA (PUVA) treatments for vitiligo "cause cancer of the skin." When used to treat vitiligo, PUVA therapy requires only a limited number of treatments-approximately 150 in number that has not been shown to cause skin cancer. By comparison, PUVA treatments for psoriasis can be as many as double the number for vitiligo. It has been shown that a small percentage of patients who receive more than 250 PUVA treatments can develop treatable squamous cell cancers of the skin.

Vitiligo Treatment Options

Four options are currently available for the treatment of vitiligo: sunscreens; cover-up; restoration of normal skin color; and bleaching of normal skin with topical creams to remove normal skin pigment to make an even color.

Sunscreens

The two goals of sunscreen treatments are: to protect unpigmented involved skin from sunburn reaction and to limit the tanning of normal pigmented skin. The sun protection factor (SPF) of sunscreens should be no less than SPF 30, as this grade blocks not only erythema, but also the affects of sunlight on the DNA of the skin cells. Sunscreen treatment skin phototypes 1, 2, and sometimes 3 (those who burn, then tan to some degree).

Cover-up

The goal of cover-up with dyes or make-up is to hide the white macules so that the vitiligo is less visible. Self-tanning lotions and camouflage are quite helpful for some patients.

Restoring Normal Skin Color

Restoration of normal skin color can take the form of spot treatments or whole body treatment.
Spot Treatment: Topical Corticosteroid Creams
Initial treatment with certain topical corticosteroid creams is practical, simple, and safe. If there is no response in 2 months, it is unlikely to be effective. Physician monitoring every 2 months for signs of early steroid atrophy (thinning of the skin) is required.

Spot Treatment: Topical Oxsoralen

Much more complicated is the use of topical Oxsoralen (8-MOP). Oxsoralen is highly phototoxic (likely to cause a sunburn), and the phototoxicity lasts for 3 days or more. This should be performed only as an office procedure, only for small spots, and only by experienced physicians on well-informed patients. As with oral psoralens, 15 or more treatments may be required to initiate a response, and 100 or more to finish.

Spot Treatment: Mini Grafting

Mini grafting, which involves transplanting the patient's normal skin to vitiligo affected areas, may be a useful technique for refractory segmental vitiligo macules. PUVA may be required following the procedure to unify the color between the graft sites. The demonstrated occurrence of Koebnerization in donor sites in generalized vitiligo restricts this procedure to patients who have limited skin areas at risk for vitiligo. "Pebbling" of grafted site may occur.

Whole Body Treatment: PUVA Photochemotherapy (Oral Psoralens + UVA Irradiation)

For more widespread vitiligo, treatment with oral psoralen + UVA (PUVA) is practical. This may be done with sunlight and trimethylpsoralen (Trisoralen) or with artificial UVA (in the doctor's office or at an approved phototherapy facility) and Trisoralen or Oxsoralen-Ultra. 

Ophthalmologic examination and ANA blood tests are required before starting PUVA therapy. Outdoor therapy may be initiated with 0.6 mg/kg Trisoralen followed 2 hours later by 5 minutes of New England sunlight (less in southern regions). Treatments should be twice weekly, not 2 days in a row, and sunlight exposure should increase by 3 to 5 minutes per treatment until there is a sign of response, and in a few this causes koebnerization. Individualization is required: treatment options are either 0.4 mg/kg of Oxsoralen-Ultra (well absorbed, efficient potentially very phototoxic, significant risk of nausea) or 0.6 mg/kg of Trisoralen (variably absorbed, not very phototoxic, little nausea). 

Initial UVA exposure should be 1.0 J and increments (twice weekly, not two days in a row) 0.5 (Oxsoralen-Ultra) to 1.0 (Trisoralen) J per treatment until there is evidence of response of phototoxicity. The later is the sustaining UVA dose until reasonable repigmentation has been established. 

PUVA is up to 85% effective in over 70% of patients with vitiligo of the head, neck, upper arms, legs, and trunk. Distal hands and feet are poorly responsive and alone are not usually worth treating. Genital areas should be shielded and not treated. Macules that have totally repigmented usually stay in the absence of injury/sunburn (85% likelihood up to 10 years), macules less than fully repigmented will slowly reverse once treatments have been discontinued. Maintenance treatments are required. 

Risks of treating vitiligo with PUVA include nausea, GI upset, sunburn, hyperpigmentation, and acute dryness. We advise against oral PUVA treatments for children under age 10. Treatment is most likely to be successful in highly motivated patients who clearly have reasonable objectives and understand the risks and benefits. While PUVA is not a cure, most patients who are responding well to treatment are not at the same time developing new vitiligo macules.

Topical Creams To Remove Normal Skin Pigment And Unify Skin Color

The goal of depigmentation is to unify skin color in patients with vitiligo virtually all over the body and those who have failed PUVA, who cannot use PUVA, or who reject the PUVA option. Bleaching with monobenzylether of hydroquinone 20% cream (Benoquin) is a permanent, irreversible process. Since application of Benoquin may be associated with distant depigmentation, Benoquin cannot be used to selectively to bleach certain areas of normal pigmentation, because there is a real likelihood that new and distant white macules will develop over the months of use. Bleaching with Benoquin normally requires twice-daily possible side effects. Uncommonly, contact dermatitis is observed. The success rate is about 93%. Periodically following sun exposure, an occasional patient will observe focal repigmentation, which will require a month or so of local use of Benoquin to reverse.

The end-stage color of skin bleached with Benoquin is the same chalk-white as the vitiligo macules. Most patients are quite satisfied with uniformity and the finality of the results. An occasional patient may wish to take 30 to 60 mg beta-carotene to impart on off-white color to the skin. The only side effect of beta-carotene is the uncommon risk of diarrhea.

Patients who undergo bleaching are at risk for sunburn. They should avoid midday sun exposure and should use a high-SPF sunscreen. To date no long-term untoward effects have been reported from the use of monobenzylether of hydroquinone for skin bleaching.

Why Is It Important To Treat Vitiligo?

Many physicians, and even some dermatologists, fail to recognize the profound social and psychological impact vitiligo may have on its victims. Vitiligo is painless and non-pruritic and, unlike psoriasis, it is not associated with shedding of skin scales. But the disfigurement of vitiligo, accentuated among persons with brown or black skin, can be devastating.

The recent media publicity about Michael Jackson's battle with vitiligo has helped raise public awareness of the disease. While vitiligo is worldwide and affects all races equally, it is a particularly troubling social problem for persons whose normal skin color is brown or black. The contrast between brown skin and white vitiligo spots can create a grotesque "harlequin" appearance. The same kind of disfigurement can become a problem for vitiligo victims with normally fair skin who tan deeply during the summer months or, among those who live in sunny climates, throughout the year.

In India, vitiligo, or "leukoderma" as it is called there, is regarded as "white leprosy." The late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ranked vitiligo as one of three major medical problems in India, alongside malaria and leprosy. A woman in India cannot marry if she has even one spot of vitiligo, and if a woman develops vitiligo after marriage it is considered grounds for divorce.

It is no wonder vitiligo patients can turn aggressive, feel a sense of shame, or become withdrawn and resentful. For many, vitiligo is not just a cosmetic problem-it is a major social dysfunction that seriously curtails their ability to lead a normal work, social or married life. Reversal of the white spots and restoration of normal skin color is therefore the primary hope for all these disfigured vitiligo patients.

Bibliography

Fitzpatriack TB, Eisen AZ, Wolff K, etal. "Disorders of Pigmentation" 

In: Dermatology In General Medicine, 4th ed., edited by TB Fitzpatrick et al. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1993.

Fitzpatrick TB, Johnson RA, Woff K etal. "Vitiligo" In: Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, 3rd ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1997. Ortonne JP. Mosher DB. Fitzpatrick TB. Vitiligo and Other Hypomelanoses of Hair and Skin. New York, Plenum Publishing Corporation, 1983.

Pepper Compound Could Aid Millions With Vitiligo

This an article from Science Daily 2008, thought to share it with all:


ScienceDaily (Apr. 13, 2008) — Oregon Health & Science University has licensed a family of compounds derived from black pepper extract – on which it owns the patents – to AdPharma, Inc. for potential pharmaceutical development. The compounds have shown potential in animal studies to be effective in treating vitiligo, a skin pigmentation disorder.

Vitiligo, which afflicts an estimated 100 million people worldwide, is characterized by the loss of pigment in affected areas of skin. It is the disease pop star Michael Jackson has publicly disclosed that he has. It is neither life-threatening nor contagious. But the sometimes unsightly white patches it causes produce emotional distress for many and often lead to social ostracism because of a widespread misperception that the condition is infectious.
An estimated 1 percent to 2 percent of the world’s population suffers from the malady. Current treatments, which rely on immunosuppression or ultraviolet radiation to stimulate repigmentation, are only partially effective, often producing a mottled appearance. Excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation also poses the risk of skin cancer.
“Based on the animal studies we have done, these compounds, if proved safe in humans, promise far superior results in the treatment of vitiligo than current approaches,” said Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurology, OHSU School of Medicine. “Vitiligo is a highly visible disease that can greatly affect patients psychologically and emotionally, even driving some to consider suicide. Any breakthrough in treating it would benefit a huge number of people around the world.”
Soumyanath and her collaborators reported on the effects of their compounds in animals in a paper just published in the British Journal of Dermatology. But development of the concept dates back more than a decade. Soumyanath discovered – in research on vitiligo that she initiated at King’s College London – that piperine, the alkaloid in black pepper responsible for its pungency, stimulated the proliferation of melanocytes in cell cultures. Melanocytes are the cells that produce pigmentation in the skin. The researchers then designed and tested many synthetic piperine analogs and identified a number that produced the same result.
The group subsequently found that piperine and two of its analogs – tetrahydropiperine (THP) and a cyclohexyl derivative (RCHP) produced light, even pigmentation when applied to the skin of a poorly pigmented mouse model. When combined with UV radiation, the skin grew significantly darker and showed none of the patchiness caused by UV treatment alone. Moreover, skin pre-treated with a piperine compound required fewer UV exposures, thus lowering the cancer risk, and it took longer for the pigmentation to fade again than when UV alone was used.
Since coming to OHSU in 2002, Soumyanath has established new collaborations with scientific and clinical researchers to continue work on this project. “Dr. Soumyanath’s recent discoveries open up completely new and exciting treatment possibilities for those individuals affected by vitiligo,” said Andrew Blauvelt, M.D., professor of dermatology at OHSU and one of Soumyanath’s recent collaborators. “There is a huge unmet need for this disease because we have very few treatments to offer patients right now,” he noted.
OHSU acquired the patents to Soumyanath’s piperine compounds from King’s College London and BTG International Ltd. in 2006 and succeeded in finding a commercial partner, AdPharma, to advance the compounds through pharmaceutical development. Soumyanath has a financial interest in AdPharma. This potential conflict has been disclosed to the OHSU Conflict of Interest in Research committee for management.
AdPharma, a diverse pharmaceutical company headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill., licenses promising compounds from scientists, universities and biotech companies and advances them through the clinical testing stage. “Our key strength is being able to identify, through our computer models and past experience, promising drugs which we can then drive through our strong development structure,” said Anil Sunkara, the company’s chief executive officer.
The next step before clinical trials can be undertaken, said Soumyanath, is to determine in animal models whether the repigmentation effects of piperine compounds is associated in any way with melanoma or other skin cancers. “From our mouse studies so far, it doesn’t appear that is the case,” she said, “and we are hopeful that more detailed research will bear this out. OHSU has ideal facilities and expertise for further preclinical and clinical studies, and we are excited to have the support of AdPharma as we move toward testing these compounds in human vitiligo.”