Protect your skin from the sun. Skin that has lost its natural color tends to sunburn easily. A bad sunburn can worsen vitiligo. If you have a lighter skin tone, there's another advantage to protecting your skin from the sun. Without a tan, the lighter spots and patches are often less noticeable.
Sunburn is a severe risk if you have vitiligo. You must protect your skin from the sun and do not use sunbeds. When skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces a pigment called melanin to help protect it from ultraviolet (UV) light.
Although there's no cure for vitiligo, it is treatable. Because most individuals with vitiligo are otherwise healthy, treatment is optional, especially for those fair-skinned individuals in whom the depigmentation is less obvious.
Hormonal Changes
Fluctuations in hormones, such as during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, have been associated with triggering vitiligo flare-ups.
Though vitiligo is non-curable, timely treatment can slow down the progression of the depigmentation. It may even succeed in bringing back some color to white patches. UV treatment is the preferred treatment mode for the treatment of vitiligo.
The appearance of the vitiligo should not prevent you from taking your seaside or mountain vacation. Sunbathing, however, is generally not the best way to spend your time. It is particularly important to avoid sun exposure from 10 am to 4 pm (especially children).
The Sun as a Catalyst
Vitiligo is activated from sun exposure in childhood, when the pigment-producing cells, melanocytes, are destroyed.
Skin that has lost its natural color tends to sunburn easily. A bad sunburn can worsen vitiligo. If you have a lighter skin tone, there's another advantage to protecting your skin from the sun. Without a tan, the lighter spots and patches are often less noticeable.
Say Hello to Sunshine: Expose the affected areas to early morning sunlight i.e. just as soon as the sun rises as it consists of ultraviolet A-rays (320-400nm) which stimulate pigment-forming cells (melanin). However, ultraviolet rays are harmful when at their peak between 10 am to 4 pm.
Studies suggest that vitamin D3 increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro [12], which may lead to repigmentation in vitiligo skin lesions. Calcipotriol and tacalcitol, which are vitamin D analogs, are also known to induce repigmentation in patients with vitiligo [13,14].
Some food items like juicy fruits rich in vitamin C or ascorbic acid such as oranges and lemon, other fermented food items as curd, alcohol, Fish, red meat are to be avoided as they have harmful effect on vitiligo and can give rise to spreading of patches.
Because vitiligo spots have no melanin, they can't tan. If the skin isn't protected with sunscreen, vitiligo patches may burn or scar. Getting a tan on the rest of your body will only highlight the white patches, especially if you have light skin.
Drinking water stored in a copper vessel will help you increase melanin in your body and reduce whiteness of patches caused by vitiligo. Basil leaves are known to have anti-aging and anti-viral properties. These properties of basil are important for dealing with vitiligo.
This chronic skin disease does not affect life expectancy, but it can have a significant psychological impact. Vitiligo is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis that affects the skin and mucous membranes.
Potential triggers include sunburn, exposure to certain chemicals, and trauma or injury to the skin, according to the article in F1000 Research. These triggers can also prompt vitiligo to spread in people who already have the condition.
It is also true that the lack of pigment in the skin in vitiligo patients, which results from the loss of the pigment-producing cells called melanocytes, makes them more likely to burn when spending time in the sun.
However, you can sometimes prevent your symptoms from getting worse or spreading. Some vitiligo prevention strategies—such as diet and taking vitamins—are focused on boosting the immune system. Protecting the skin from wounds and burns may also help to prevent white patches from spreading.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way. The normal role of the immune system is to protect you from infections and cancer.
After 6 to 12 months, segmental vitiligo tends to stabilize, meaning that the color loss stops. Once it stops, most people with segmental vitiligo don't develop new patches or spots.
No drug can stop the process of vitiligo — the loss of pigment cells (melanocytes). But some drugs, used alone, in combination or with light therapy, can help restore some color. Drugs that control inflammation. Applying a corticosteroid cream to affected skin might return color.
In some people, physical trauma or stress to the skin, such as sunburn or exposure to industrial chemicals, can trigger vitiligo or worsen it, per NIAMS. 3 The parts of the skin that have less pigment are more likely to get sunburned, per StatPearls.
If vitiligo is not treated, it may spread extensively to involve various skin areas. Rarely, some patches may go away or decrease in size. Although vitiligo is neither dangerous nor causes symptoms, such as pain or itch, the sufferers may be upset and stressed because of the way their skin appears.
Vitiligo can also affect the hair, causing white or prematurely gray hair. Some people lose some of their eye color and see light spots on the colored part of an eye. Vitiligo can also develop inside your ear and may affect your hearing.
About 10% to 20% of people who have vitiligo fully regain their skin color. This is most common among people who: Receive an early diagnosis before age 20.