Today is the day dedicated to the care of patients afflictedwith a disease called vitiligo. The way we have an International day for AIDSor for Leprosy or even the Mothers’ or Fathers’ day, we have a Vitiligo day aswell. And that is June 25.
People working in the health sector recognize the importanceof Vitiligo much more now than in the past. And the way the world vitiligo dayis observed or recognized now is a pointer towards that.
Vitiligo is a very common disease, more than what a common manworld perceive it to be. In my teaching days at medical college I would alwaysask my undergraduate students a simple multiple choice question and I wouldinvariably ask this to every batch. The question used to be-‘How common isvitiligo in your opinion? One in 10,000 or 1 in 1000 or 1 in 100?’ And asexpected only a small minority if any would pick the right answer. Vitiligo isa really common disease and it involves more than 1% of the world population.So, in a class of 100 students, expect at least one to have vitiligo even ifyou are not aware of it.
God has been really kind with me and has blessed me in waysthat I could never have imagined. I have had the privilege of working withvitiligo in multiple ways. With God’s grace we have been able to help hundredsand thousands of patients of vitiligo, belonging not only to the valley but tocountries beyond Indian borders. We got our first international patient ofvitiligo in 2007 or 2008 and he came all the way from Jordan to treat hisfacial vitiligo here. He is a now a married man with two kids and in touch withus. Today I have a message for vitiligo patients.
So what should we all do on vitiligo day? As generalphysicians or dermatologists, as patients or guardians of patients, or ascommon human beings? This was the question I posed to myself the moment Istarted writing this column and finally I decided to compose some messages forall of us.
1. RememberVitiligo is a treatable disease. If not in all, in at least 80% cases. And theearlier we start the treatment the better it is. Vitiligo is caused bydestruction of pigment forming cells in the skin. We call these cells as’melanocytes’ and we now know that these cells are destroyed by the body’s ownimmune system. So there is a dysregulation of the immune cells and these cellscause a damage to the body’s own pigment forming cells in the skin. The earlierwe stop this process by appropriate drugs, the easier it is. Once all thesecells are destroyed at a particular place on the body it becomes exceedinglydifficult to treat the disease.
2. There is alot of development in the field of vitiligo treatment. We have so many newoptions to treat this disease now that were not available to us in the past.Treatments like Excimer light and laser, ultrathin skin grafting and melanocytetransplant have revolutionized the treatment of vitiligo. There are so many neworal drugs availabe for the treatment of vitiligo and some others beingdeveloped. So, there is much more than the age old custom of taking or applyingdrugs and exposing to sun.
3. Vitiligo isa challenge to treat as the treatment is lengthy and to add to that there arechances of recurrence especially in young cases. But patience and steadfastnesswins the race always.
4. Patients ofvitiligo are bombarded with advices. Advices about the usefulness of unani andayurvedic drugs, advices about food and diet and what not. Listen to them andforget them. Your aunty in the neighbourhood has grown up with so many myths aboutvitiligo in her mind. Don’t take that gift from her. No food item has beenscientifically linked to vitiligo. So enjoy whatever you like to eat and drink.
5. Vitiigo hasa lot of psychological impact. Be strong to fight this at the emotional level.
For the health professionals
For my friends working with the patients of vitiligo let mepass on a few messages to them as well.
1. Remember thatvitiligo is treatable. It is so sad that majority of doctors have a reallynegative outlook about the treatment of vitiligo. Many a times we have patientstelling us ‘that doctor said that vitiligo has no treatment’. Don’t discouragethe patient and pass on the right advice.
2. Send thepatient to the proper specialist for treatment. Refer him/her rather thanexperimenting with his/her disease. Having the right treatment at the righttime is the most important for him/her.
3. Don’t pass onany unnecessary dietary restrictions to the patients. Don’t prescribe orproscribe anything that is scientifically not proven.
4. Vitiligotreatment has undergone a sea change. Make sure the patients are able to takeadvantage of these developments.
5. And last ofall, remember that vitiligo patients need our psychological support more thananything else.
Message for the public
1. Vitiligo isnon-contagious. It is not going to spread to you if you shake the hands of avitiligo patient. A patient with vitiligo is emotionally devastated. Be humaneand show your enthusiasm in shaking hands with him/her. And be encouraging tohim or her.
2. Pass on theright advice. Advice that is scientifically proven. Don’t advise something thatyou are yourself not sure of scientifically.
3. Vitiligo doesnot impact a person’s intelligence or his ability to work in any field. Don’tdiscriminate against him/her just on the basis of this disease.
4. For a parentlooking for a match for his son or daughter, vitiligo should not be a criterionto refuse a match. It is nothing more than patchy loss of skin color. We have asizable percentage of the world population, the whites, who have almost no skincolor or melanin.
5. For youth andfor students, your friends with vitiligo need your love. Don’t shy away fromshowing that fully and unconditionally.