Busting myths about vitiligo

wellbeing

Vitiligo is a chronic skin condition characterised by portions of the skin losing their pigment. It occurs when skin pigment cells die or are unable to function. Second only to leprosy, vitiligo has probably the most myths associated with it. Let’s clear some of them: 

Myth: Vitiligo is caused by the wrath of God for our wrong doings; certain types of deodorant set off vitiligo; or that you can get it by patting dogs with white spots on their head.
Fact: Notions like these are baseless and arise from a lack of understanding of the disease. It has been found that vitiligo is caused by the destruction of melanocytes, the pigment producing cells of the skin. When these stop functioning, no pigment is produced and hence, the skin becomes white.

Myth: Vitiligo is a result of eating the wrong food.
Fact: Vitiligo has no connection with diet. Factors which are believed to
aggravate vitiligo are injuries, that is, new patches appear where skin is subject to friction of trauma like scratches, burns, cuts, and pressure sores, among others.

Myth: Vitiligo is a type of leprosy and is contagious.
Fact: Vitiligo is not related to leprosy in any way. It is not contagious and hence, cannot be spread from another person via touch, saliva, blood, inhalation or sexual intercourse.

Myth: Vitiligo is untreatable.
Fact: There are a host of treatments for vitiligo that are available today. These include immunomodular drugs, steroids, ultraviolet A and the newer, narrow band ultraviolet B. Apart from that, surgical options like punch grafting and split thickness grafting can also be considered.

(The author is senior consulting dermatologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi)