Vitiligo is a disease where the immune system turns against itself (autoimmune disease) where immune cells attack color-producing cells called melanocytes or cause them to stop functioning, causing color loss of the skin resulting in white patches of skin across the body; affecting the Epidermis. Vitiligo can affect anyone but it is mostly noticed on darker skin tones & would be found common to start at the age of 20+. Vitiligo can start as a small patch of white skin and can continue to spread over any part of the body including eyes, mouth and hair. There is no cure for vitiligo, but treatments are available to reduce the white patches & help skin re-gain melanin. This skin disease isn't fatal but it can have an emotional & psychological …show more content…
Not one treatment works for everyone, and each treatment depends on the amount of discoloration of the person, that is why options are included. Cosmetic treatments aren’t permanent and would need to be re-applied constantly. Cosmetic treatments are also recommended for younger patients due to that there is no side-effects. Light treatments uses light to repigment skin, patients are placed inside a lightbox to treat widespread Vitiligo and smaller lasers are used to treat smaller patches of Vitiligo. This treatment has to be consistent in order to see long lasting results, if treatment is stopped, patients begin to see color restoration begin to fade. Medicine cream can also be prescribed to restore skin color, and is usually prescribed to apply on smaller areas. The medicine is mostly effective for darker colored skin and also best when used on smaller areas such as the face. But some side effects of this medicine cream would be skin atrophy, where the skin becomes fragile & paper thin. Lastly, there is the option of Depigmentation, where the rest of the skin pigment is removed. Very few people choose this treatment & results on converting the skin to all white. Depigmentation is an option for adults who have few spots left with skin pigment and a cream would be applied to the skin 1-2 times a day; the process would take 1-4 years when applying