Wei Laboratories, Inc.
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What is Vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a condition in which your skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and
eyes. It occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white
patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin.
Vitiligo affects all races, but may be more noticeable and disfiguring in people with darker skin. It usually starts as
small areas of pigment loss that spread with time. These changes in your skin can result in stress and worries about
your appearance.
There is no cure for Vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss and, if you desire,
attempt to return some color to your skin.
Symptoms
• Pigment loss that produces milky-white patches (depigmentation) on your skin
Less common signs may include:
• Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard
• Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth (mucous membranes)
• Loss of or change in color of the inner layer of your eye (retina)
Although any part of your body may be affected by Vitiligo, depigmentation usually develops first on sun-exposed areas
of your skin, such as your hands, feet, arms, face and lips. Although it can start at any age, Vitiligo often first appears
between the ages of 10 and 30. Vitiligo generally appears in one of three patterns:
• Focal. Depigmentation is limited to one or a few areas of your body.
• Segmental. Loss of skin color occurs on only one side of your body.
• Generalized. Pigment loss is widespread across many parts of your body, often symmetrically.
Causes
Vitiligo occurs when melanin, the dark pigment in the epidermis that gives your skin its normal color, is destroyed or not
produced. The involved patch of skin then becomes white. Exactly why this occurs isn't known.
Doctors and scientists have theories as to what causes Vitiligo. It may be due to an immune system disorder. Heredity
may be a factor because there's an increased incidence of Vitiligo in some families. Some people have reported a
single event, such as sunburn or emotional distress that triggered the condition. However, none of these theories has
been proven as a definite cause of Vitiligo.
Western medicine treatment
Depending on the number, size and location of the white patches, you may decide to seek medical treatment. Medical
treatments for Vitiligo aim to even out skin tone, either by restoring color (pigment) or by destroying the remaining color.
Medical therapies
• Topical corticosteroid therapy. Corticosteroids may help return color to your skin (repigmentation).
• Topical immunomodulators. Effective for people with small areas of depigmentation, especially on the face and
neck.
• Photochemotherapy and Ultraviolet therapy.
• Depigmentation. Depigmentation may be an option for the Vitiligo covers more than half of your skin
• Surgical therapies
Alternative Medicine
There is a significant progress using alternative medicine in this area.
If you want a referral of an expert alternative medicine practitioner in your
local area, please use our free referral service by calling our toll-free at
1-888-919-1188, or e-mail us to wei@weilab.com, or click the button
at the right to have us contact you.
Information gathered from the Mayo Clinic
Vitiligo is a condition in which your skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and
eyes. It occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white
patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin.
Vitiligo affects all races, but may be more noticeable and disfiguring in people with darker skin. It usually starts as
small areas of pigment loss that spread with time. These changes in your skin can result in stress and worries about
your appearance.
There is no cure for Vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss and, if you desire,
attempt to return some color to your skin.
Symptoms
• Pigment loss that produces milky-white patches (depigmentation) on your skin
Less common signs may include:
• Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard
• Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth (mucous membranes)
• Loss of or change in color of the inner layer of your eye (retina)
Although any part of your body may be affected by Vitiligo, depigmentation usually develops first on sun-exposed areas
of your skin, such as your hands, feet, arms, face and lips. Although it can start at any age, Vitiligo often first appears
between the ages of 10 and 30. Vitiligo generally appears in one of three patterns:
• Focal. Depigmentation is limited to one or a few areas of your body.
• Segmental. Loss of skin color occurs on only one side of your body.
• Generalized. Pigment loss is widespread across many parts of your body, often symmetrically.
Causes
Vitiligo occurs when melanin, the dark pigment in the epidermis that gives your skin its normal color, is destroyed or not
produced. The involved patch of skin then becomes white. Exactly why this occurs isn't known.
Doctors and scientists have theories as to what causes Vitiligo. It may be due to an immune system disorder. Heredity
may be a factor because there's an increased incidence of Vitiligo in some families. Some people have reported a
single event, such as sunburn or emotional distress that triggered the condition. However, none of these theories has
been proven as a definite cause of Vitiligo.
Western medicine treatment
Depending on the number, size and location of the white patches, you may decide to seek medical treatment. Medical
treatments for Vitiligo aim to even out skin tone, either by restoring color (pigment) or by destroying the remaining color.
Medical therapies
• Topical corticosteroid therapy. Corticosteroids may help return color to your skin (repigmentation).
• Topical immunomodulators. Effective for people with small areas of depigmentation, especially on the face and
neck.
• Photochemotherapy and Ultraviolet therapy.
• Depigmentation. Depigmentation may be an option for the Vitiligo covers more than half of your skin
• Surgical therapies
Alternative Medicine
There is a significant progress using alternative medicine in this area.
If you want a referral of an expert alternative medicine practitioner in your
local area, please use our free referral service by calling our toll-free at
1-888-919-1188, or e-mail us to wei@weilab.com, or click the button
at the right to have us contact you.
Information gathered from the Mayo Clinic
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