A Vitiligo Treatment That Works - Where?

As I mentioned earlier, vitiligo is a condition in which the cells of the skin responsible for pigmentation either stop working or die. And when these cells stop working they produce the most notable symptom of vitiligo, the light patches of skin that can be found anywhere on the body. These cells are called melanocytes. They are located at the bottom level of the epidermis. (The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin.) No one knows why this condition affects people or where it comes from. Many scientists have speculated about all kinds of environmental factors but no one cause has been identified. What has been identified is that vitiligo affects EVERYBODY!

Vitiligo affects every race, it crosses the gender lines and economic status has no bearing on it. It can affect young and old alike and everyone that is affected is looking for a cure! Currently, there is no cure for vitiligo. But there are several treatments that have shown great promise in relieving the symptoms. Some of the treatments for vitiligo include:

1. Transplanting Melanocytes - These are the cells that are responsible for pigment. This treatment goes to the heart of the problem. The doctors transplant these cells from another part of your body (most likely your gluteal region...), to the areas affected with the vitiligo. This treatment has has numerous successes wherein patients have reported nearly complete repigmentation. But there has been some drawbacks. Some patients have reported that the vitiligo returned months later.

2. Ultraviolet Light Treatments - This treatment involves using the power of the UVA or UVB spectrum of ultraviolet light to stimulate the cells of the skin. The UVA treatment was used in conjunction with either ingesting or applying a drug called Psoralen. Using psoralen makes your skin sensitive to light, therefore allowing your skin to darken. The UVB treatment was founded later and did not involve using psoralen. Patients could just expose themselves to the UVB light.

There are many more treatments for vitiligo, but I do not have the room to list them all in this article. As with all treatments, there is a chance that it might not work on you. Not all treatments will work for all people. So it's important that you, the person affected by vitiligo, do not stop looking for that one treatnment that can help you on your way to relieving your vitiligo.

Vitiligo Treatments - Which One Works?

When you type into Google: "Vitiligo Treatments", what are you really asking? Are you asking for a list of vitiligo treatments so you can figure out which route to take? Or are you looking for information on the many different treatment options or methods out there? Are you just looking for information on this mysterious skin condition? Whatever the case, you have come to the right article. Whatever your intentions with this phrase, I can't give you ALL of the answers here. But what I can do is list for you some of the best treatments that might be able to work for you. You ready? Then let's go!

1. UVB therapy - UVB stands for Ultra-Violet B-band therapy. Basically what happens is those areas on your body that are affected by vitiligo are exposed to ultra-violet light from the B band spectrum. This treatment has recently replaced the UVA treatment(Ultra-violet A), because of the UVA's well documented problems with high cancer rates, nausea and other problems. UVB therapy is better tolerated amongst those that receive the treatment.

2. Melanocyte Transplantation - Before you start scratching your head and wonder if I made that word up. Yes melanocyte is a word. Melanocyte is the layer of skin that researchers think is the core of the problem. This layer of the skin is what dies or either stops working. Thus vitiligo is born! With this treatment you receive a transplant from the unaffected region of your body to the affected region...and your body does the rest!

3. Depigmentation - This treatment is just what it sounds like and perhaps it's the treatment that the late, great King of Pop Michael Jackson took. You completely depigment the rest of your skin to match the patches that are already affected by the vitiligo.

I can understand why someone that has vitiligo would ask this question. There are so many different treatments for this condition, that I can really see a person getting confused as to which route to take. Thankfully this is not a decision to be taken lightly, and this is not a decision that you should try to reach on your own. As with every medical decision, a licensed physician that is an expert in this particular field should be consulted. Vitiligo is a serious skin condition that affects millions of people WORLDWIDE. So a decision of this magnitude should have your best interests at heart.

Your Dr. should tell you what I'm about to tell you. No one treatment will work for everyone. And even if you find a treatment that does work for you, there is a risk that the vitiligo will return. But the even better news is that the above treatments have had the BEST rates of satisfaction among everyone who received them.

What Are Major Vitiligo Treatments

Vitiligo is not a monster which will eat you or kill you. It is a controllable disease and when we talk about how to remedy and treat Vitiligo then first of all we must know and understand very clearly and specifically that Vitiligo is a general abnormality of some immune system within the body which results into white patches on to the skin. Vitiligo can attack any part of the body from head to toe. With the help of proper medication and on time detection it can be controlled but I am afraid it is very hard to have a permanent cure of the root causes. It leads us to the conclusion that the remedies and the treatments of Vitiligo are not very simple and straight forward if we don't have proper knowledge about it.

With above statements first of all you should not get upset; secondly you should remain positive towards the remedy and sure of the disease. You should make yourself very clear in your mind that Vitiligo doesn't possess any serious health or life threat to your life. It is just related to some cosmetic problem and proper treatment can stop this from further spread onto the skin. We recommend you not to look for the permanent solution or cure for Vitiligo because there is nothing available currently as permanent treatment so please save your money and time and look for the solution which can stop it from further spread. There are number of options available to choose from; and you and your doctor may choose any of the following options

Home Remedies: These are the oldest remedies and have been using as self treatment since ages. It is also known that majority of the patients have already tried home remedies as Vitiligo treatment, at least once in their lifetime. The success rates of home remedies are very limited and if this treatment was taken without proper supervision then this may lead towards some unpleasant side effects, which may not preclude their further continuation.

Herbal Remedies: Herbal remedies consist of treatment with various herbal components which contain Psoralens which is widely used substance for Vitiligo treatment. Psoralens are a group of natural herbs and are found naturally in many herbal components. These have been isolated from fig, parsley, West Indian satinwood and celery etc. Psoralea Corylifolia and Indian Ayurvedic are the most extensively used source of psoralens in herbal as well as systems of alternate medicine.

Homeopathic: If we talk about philosophy of the homeopathic treatments of Vitiligo then we may not found it very different than allopathic ways of treatments. Both the treatments believe that Vitiligo is a systemic disease which is caused due to some immune disorder. However they vary in their treatment approach. Homeopathic treatments aim at the root causes of the disease and it works for the detection and restoration of the dysfunctional parts of the body.

AyurVedic: AyurVedic is one of the popular treatments in Indian system of medicine which consists of some herbal as well as natural herbs with some heavy metals and surgical techniques for the treatment purposes. AyurVedic approach of the treatment is very much similar to herbal remedies.

Prescription Medicine: Prescription medicine is considered to be as allopathic ways of treatments which are regulated by certain state as well as public laws and the medicine is usually banned to be sold without proper prescription by the patent doctor. There have been researches on the medicines and all the advantages and side effects are properly written and published with the medicine so that the patient could himself know about the advantages and disadvantages.

Surgical Therapy: This is a costly way of treatment in which the medical professionals use surgical therapy to cure the Vitiligo. In this method the affected area of the skin is surgically shifted to a non affected area of the skin. The success rate is usually not predictable and the result may be more un-acceptable than the base-line. When the cost, the hassle and the risk of surgical complications like scarring and infection are added, it becomes a fairly risky option to go for Vitiligo treatment as surgical therapy.