Leucoderma- Skin whitening

Leucoderma is a disorder in which the body destroys its own pigment cells present in various parts of the skin. The pigment cell are also known as Melanocytes. Due to loss of pigment in particular area, that part of skin becomes white in colour and has sharp margins. There sharp margins joins the unaffected part of the skin.

If the affected area contains any hair then that also becomes white. Leucoderma is also known as Vitiligo. The word vitiligo is derived from the Latin: Viti meaning “blemish” and ligo meaning “to cause” Leucoderma is not an infectious disease. It is believed that leucoderma begins in late adulthood, with patches of unpigmented skin appearing on extremities. The patches may remain constant in size.

Causes of leucoderma

Leucoderma, is genetically inherited. In about 25 % of patients with vitiligo there is a family history. It mainly affects half the offspring of an affected parent and half the brothers and sisters of the patient. Vitiligo may also occur at sites of injury to the skin and therefore may at first show itself in scars or burns. It has also been noted that the leukoderma may occur due to development of on antibody against and enzyme present in the pigment cell.

It is this antibody and the lymphocytes which together leads to the destruction of the pigment cells. It is also known as Autoimmune disorder because the pigment cells become regarded the pigment as “foreign” and are therefore rejected.

Although, the exact cause of vitiligo is not known. But is also considered to be triggered and made worse by certain other factors, such as-stress, injury, Sunburn, etc. Although, most people suffering from vitiligo are perfectly healthy but they are at higher risk of developing Thyroid disease, Anaemia and Diabetes.

Symptoms of Vitiligo:

1) There may be seen irregularly, shaped white patches on the skin.

2) There may be change of body hair colour into white in affected areas.

3) There may be also one or many patches seen on the body. Although, vitiligo may be seen on any part of the body but it is most commonly seen on Face, Neck, Arms, Hands, Underarms, Feet, Genitals, etc.

4) The leucoderma is generally progressive and the patches normally becomes larger in size and numerous in number. They may even slowly spread to other parts of the body.

Treatment of Leucoderma:

The leucoderma is generally noticed in summer, when normal skin darkens. Because of the deficiency of protective pigment, the affected areas are more likely to burn and blister in the sun. Hence, we can also say that, it is mainly a cosmetic problem. Therefore, the selft-treatment for vitiligo consists of the use of cosmetics to hide the white patches. Vitiligo sufferers should avoid suntanning on normal skin. They should use lotions with high contents of Sun Protection Factor.

Steroids have been used to remove the white patches but they are not too much effective. But if the disease is diagnosed very early, they the steroid creams may bring colour and pigment back to the area within six months. Other method includes the chemical treating the patient to remove all pigment from the skin to present a uniform skin tone.

Narrow band Ultra Violet light is a also used which mainly blur the edges of patches and light freckles the affected areas. Nowadays, the doctors successfully transplants melanocytes to the vitiligo affected areas and most of the patients experiences the repigmentation of their skin. But the longevity of the repigmentation varies from patient to patient.