ipl-logo

Vitiligo Patients: A Case Study

681 Words3 Pages

Skin diseases can have a major impact on social functioning, everyday activities and by extension psychological well-being. In recent years quality of life has become an important endpoint in clinical trials (Pater, 1996). Due to its visibility, stigmatization becomes a part of daily life in vitiligo patients, which can lead to intense psychosocial stress (Ginsburg & Link, 1989). Vitiligo has been described as ‘life-ruining’, as opposed to ‘life-threatening (Yazici et al., 2004).
An estimated 30% of vitiligo patients suffer from psychological problems as a result of the disease (Porter, Beuf, Nordlund & Lerner, 1979). Every aspect of a person’s life is affected by the condition, including the physical, social, and psychological aspects; it …show more content…

A large majority of patients have experienced that others do not want to touch them (Gupta & Gupta, 1998). Stigmatization influences the quality of life of vitiligo patients significantly (Finlay & Khan, 1994). The disease is a frequent precursor to low self-esteem, sexual malfunction, distress, anxiety, poor body image, depression, and a lower the quality of life in general (Porter, Beuf, Lerner & Nordlund, 1986). Similar to psoriasis patients, vitiligo patients are left to deal with a chronic, relapsing, visible and lifelong disorder that impairs their ability to cope (Chren & Weinstock, …show more content…

Additionally, the psychosocial impact on women is considerably more distinct, independent of age, partly due to cosmetic appearance and societal definitions of idealized beauty (Schmid-Ott et al., 2007). Interest in the psychological effects of skin disorders, including vitiligo, has increased over the last decade. Consequently, the quality of life in patients suffering from these diseases have been subject to closer examination (Gupta, Sreenivas, Mehta, Khaitan & Ramam,

Show More
Related
150 Words | 1 Pages

In the article “My Black Skin Makes My Coat Vanish”, the author Mana Lumumba-Kasongo argues that her black skin makes people do not believe she is a doctor. She shares her own experiences of giving the situations when people asked her, where the doctor is. For example, when the author had a patient, a black little girl, refused to let her to treat her, even though she have seen that Dr. Kasongo was wearing a white coat. She felt embarrassed and couldn’t believe that people didn’t believe that she actually has a medical degree. Dr. Kasongo also talked to her peers and she found out that she was not the only one treated in this way.

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

No matter what she did, that little voice came creeping back, persistent and unsatisfied. Not enough (p.50).” I loved how the author addressed this issue of feeling insecure. Today many dark-skinned women feel they are unattractive because they are not light enough and that white is better. I have a friend of mine who bleaches her own skin to feel beautiful and be accepted to

Read More
487 Words | 2 Pages

Black Like Me is an incredible journey into what life was like in the Deep South during the late 1950s. John Griffin performed a social experiment to see what was life really like for blacks in the Southern States. John Griffin transformed himself into a black man and recorded his experiences into a book, Black Like Me. I was fascinated that 1950s science and medicine had advanced enough to allow someone to change the pigment of their skin. The procedure that Griffin underwent was simply taking pills and exposing himself to ultra violet rays (6).

Read More
462 Words | 2 Pages

Research shows that those who are attractive typically receive preferential treatment across their life span.” (Center for Human Appearance at Penn: The Psychology of Appearance). Being insensitive to the suffering of these individuals is a very important issue since the lack of interpersonal connections cause the victims to then accumulate more stress on their appearance that has led to many physical inducing symptoms. Eating disorders being the most common, its strain effect both physically and

Read More
2055 Words | 9 Pages

Furthermore, Browne also assumes that men hate makeup which women use to improve their physical appearances (Browne 45). Brown’s postulation conforms to the traditional depictions of masculinity barring men from altering their appearances with the help of makeup (McCarty & Kelly 238). However, the trend is changing today as more men embrace products aimed at improving their

Read More
1582 Words | 7 Pages

Keep in mind that some clients have sun tanned areas, freckles, or white patches known as vitiligo. The variations are due to different amounts of melanin in certain areas. A generalized loss of pigmentation is seen in albinism. Dark-skinned clients have lighter-colored palms, soles, nail beds, and lips. Freckle like or dark streaks of pigmentation are also common in the sclera and nail- beds of dark-skinned clients.

Read More
1174 Words | 5 Pages

Vitiligo is a disease that causes the loss of skin color in blotches on the body. It is a condition where the extent and rate of the color loss is unpredictable and can depend greatly on the person with the condition. Vitiligo can affect any part of the skin on the body, and there are no limits on where or how much of the disease can spread (Mayo Clinic). Vitiligo is not frequent in the global population. Studies show that vitiligo has a frequency of 0.1-2.0% in the various populations (Spritz 2003).

Read More
1517 Words | 7 Pages

This societal separation and fear has progressively led to the development of the current stigma surrounding the illness. The general

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

Molding Expectations At one point or another, everyone has felt insecure about the way they look or apprehensive about how people see them. Throughout every stage of life we’re expected to act a certain way, to dress appropriately, and to respond properly in social environments. What happens when someone doesn’t fit the norm? In the article “Masks” Lucy Grealy shares an emotional story of depression, isolation, self-worth, and loneliness because of how she looks.

Read More
1018 Words | 5 Pages

If this scenario is viewed in isolation it will be a personal problem but if it is viewed under the microscope of social imagination it will reveal that due to society’s high standards and obsession with beauty has effected number of people in society. In a nutshell Social imagination is being able to distinguish personal problems

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

They constantly encounter the problem of not living up to society’s beauty standards, which results in feelings of self-hatred based on race. These feelings perpetuate racism, as society, and even black people, tend to favor white beauty since it is held up as superior. The problems that Pecola, Pauline, and Claudia face in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye are not just figments of the past. Today, millions of women across the country feel some sort of self-loathing stemming from dissatisfaction over how they look. It is important that society tries to free itself from these nonsensical standards and celebrate the unique beauty of each individual

Read More
825 Words | 4 Pages

What social media is doing to teens Social media is a very dangerous place that makes teens feel insecure. Teens spend more than one-third of their day on social media looking at stereotypical images of “perfect” bodies and people. As a result, they become insecure about themselves because they are not like the people in the pictures. The media states that a perfect person is skinny, tan, has shiny hair, straight teeth, and completely clear skin. However, because teens are going through a lot of physical changes they do not usually look like social media 's definition of perfect and they become insecure.

Read More
1108 Words | 5 Pages

Society’s perception of male beauty isn’t tied as inherently to age as it is for women, in that cosmetic companies continually market products to consumers through the male gaze. Women are constantly defined by their appearance, which is problematic in and of itself, but this problem is exacerbated by society’s rampant ageism which tells women they must maintain youthful, feminine looks as they

Read More
1126 Words | 5 Pages

The practice of modifying one’s skin as a means of expression has been active for as long as 5300 years (Haskings-Winner, Collichaw, Kritzer, & Warecki, 2011). However, in modern day societies the stigma against body modification, including tattoos is still prevalent. To understand why people of a North American influence would subject themselves to this potential undermining, one must first uncover what motivates a person to permanently enhance their skin. Primarily, research into the topic, history, traditions, modern meanings, was conducted using printed resources, online databases, and online-published journals. Notes and condensed summaries of said research was used to create survey questions and a general audience was decided.

Read More
1607 Words | 7 Pages

“The evidence suggests that black cover girls don’t sell as well as white cover girls, people of color are routinely not selected for the covers of many broad-circulation magazines ‘for fear they will depress newsstand sales.” (Phoenix 99). The solution to stop this would be if people stopped buying and paying attention to what is being put out on the media then companies who are selling these products can shut down and have less people with being insecure with their own skin. "The desire to be lighter is so great that some people with dark skin knowingly use illegal creams that contain harmful ingredients such as hydroquinone, mercury, and corticosteroids because they are believed to be stronger and thus more effective” (Phoenix 100). In 2009 there was a report of a skin bleaching which made $10 billion by the year of 2020 the company will now reach to $23 billion.

Read More

More about Vitiligo Patients: A Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document