1% of the world's population suffers from this disease
1% of the world's population suffers from this immune disease, which appears in the form of white spots on human skin, and it is Vitiligo.
What are the causes of this disease?
Is it contagious?
What are the chances of treatment from it?
Al-Arabiya.net directed these questions to Dr. Marwa Abdullah, a professor of dermatology at Ain Shams University, who said that Vitiligo is an immune disease that attacks the coloring cells of the skin known as melanocytes.
When attacked, the disease leads to its loss, which leads to a loss of color to the skin, and it becomes white spots in the skin, and the entire skin is healthy except for the loss of its color only.
And the professor of dermatology added that 50% of individuals who contract this disease show symptoms before the age of 20, and sometimes it appears in children from the age of 3 or 4 years, and this disease affects 1% of the world's population, as it is one of the diseases spread around the world. And it affects all humans, not limited to specific areas.
She added that it affects Africans, Asians, Europeans and all humans.
As for the dark skin tone, it shows the difference between white spots and the original skin color, so it appears more clearly in dark skin.
Dr. Marwa added that vitiligo is not a contagious disease but rather an immune disease, and that this disease has treatments like any immune disease that affects the body such as the thyroid gland and other immune diseases, and it has treatments, as immune diseases have periods of activity and periods of inactivity, during periods of activity Treatment must be taken to control it, and in the case of early treatment of the disease within the first 6 months of the onset of the disease, it begins with intensive treatment, through drug therapy, ultraviolet rays, and other drugs that work to control the disease early.
Dr. Marwa emphasized that ultraviolet rays are one of the essential treatments in treating vitiligo, and early treatment in cases of vitiligo contributes to healing from the disease significantly.
There are also many cosmetic methods for treatment, which are considered complementary, through certain cosmetic products that have the ability to fix the color on the spots of vitiligo to appear in the natural color of the skin, such as "medical tattoo", which is often used in the extremities, as the results of treatment in Limbs are slow, especially if not treated at the beginning of 3 or 6 months.
She added that with regard to immune diseases, they often affect the patient together, so the patient suffers from more than one disease at the same time. In some cases, some people with vitiligo suffer from an immune inflammation of the thyroid gland, and there are some other immune syndromes with vitiligo.
And vitiligo is a result of a genetic predisposition to the disease, in addition to environmental and psychological factors, so individuals who are more exposed to the disease should avoid exposure to the sun for long periods and exposure to stress.