Vitiligo, Your Doctor, and You

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You’ve been patiently waiting, dressed only in a flimsy paper gown, for your doctor to walk in and help you. For months you’ve grown steadily more worried about the white patches suddenly appearing on your skin, and you’re desperate to find out what it is.

The doctor walks in, introduces him/herself, glances down at the chart in his hands, looks back to you and says, “So, why have you come in today?” You explain in detail the growing white blotches of skin; how they’ve just come out of nowhere and that you’re scared of why this is happening to you.

He takes your hand in his, analyzes the white patch, and causally delivers his findings. “You have vitiligo. There is no cure. It won’t kill you, it’s just going to change your skin tone. Nothing to worry about and there’s really nothing you can do about it.”

Was this similar to your experience when you found out you had vitiligo? Read more

Vitiligo Basics- What is skin made of?

Only a few millimeters of skin separate our bodies from the dangers of the outside world. Yet skin’s multilayered design provides us with the perfect combination of strength, flexibility, and durability. Unlike any spacesuit or body armor designed by man, this protective covering is alive, constantly repairing and renewing itself.

You have perhaps heard that “beauty is more than skin deep.” While that is certainly true, the skin itself is beautiful and tells us a lot about people. For example, we recognize one another mostly by the skin on our face.

The skin’s blood supply and facial muscles even permit us to tell on sight when people are happy, sad, angry, or embarrassed. The skin is the largest organ in our body (weighing about 10 pounds [4.5 kg] in the adult) and covers the entire surface of our body, including our eyes, where the skin covering is conveniently transparent. Being on the surface, skin is the most accessible organ of our body, and thus must be marvelously resistant to our vain efforts to “improve” it with pigments, chemicals, punctures, and tattoos. Read more

Cure for Gray Hair May Hold Key to Vitiligo Cure

vitiligo, gray hair, hydrogen peroxide,The news that a cure for vitiligo has been found due to the research to reverse the effects of graying hair, is circulating every form of media. The truth is, though, this is not a new concept. For years we have considered a link between the buildup of hydrogen peroxide on the skin and vitiligo. Scientists have now discovered that the buildup of hydrogen peroxide in hair follicles is what causes hair to turn gray (a.k.a. oxidative stress); hence, linking it to vitiligo. Read more

Modified Protein Potentially Effective Treatment for Vitiligo Skin Disorder

Newswise — MAYWOOD, Il. – Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers have developed a genetically modified protein that dramatically reverses the skin disorder vitiligo in mice, and has similar effects on immune responses in human skin tissue samples.

The modified protein is potentially the first effective treatment for vitiligo, which causes unsightly white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body. Loyola University Chicago has submitted a patent application for the protein, and researchers are seeking regulatory approval and funding for a clinical trial in humans. Read more

Using Ginkgo Biloba to Stop Vitiligo and Repigment My Skin

Today I am starting a new experiment to try Read more