Vitiligo is a disease which results in the loss of skin colouring pigment and ultimately the person loose his or her skin colour in blotches. The rate and to what extent the colour loss will happen is always unpredictable. When the Melanocytes cells lose their ability or get destroyed completely, the human skin starts losing it's skin colour produced by these Melanocyte cells. Vitiligo can generally affect skin present of any body part. Vitiligo is a common disease and it affects almost one million people every year all over the world. The disease can affect a person of any age.

Causes of Vitiligo

There are different causes due to which Vitiligo is caused. Let us have a look :

Vitiligo can happen due to an autoimmune disorder, when the immune system becomes overactive and results in the destruction of the colour pigment-producing cells i.e. the Melanocytes.
Vitiligo is also believed to affect people because of genetic factors. The immune system can get affected by the genes and results in a loss of skin colouring melanocytes. It can be hereditary and gets passed on. However, it is not at all contagious and cannot be passed on to someone else.
Harmful exposure to UV rays can cause the body to loose melanocyte cells. Heavy sunburn is also a common cause of the disease.
A stressful life schedule or oxidative stress imbalance can easily make the melanocyte cells to go weak and eventually wither away.
A foreign virus or bacteria which may enter into the immune system and if not destroyed affects the melanocytes in different parts of the body.
Treatment for Vitiligo-

Vitiligo Treatment or White Patches Treatment is based on improving your skin s appearance by restoring its colour. Re-pigmentation treatment is most successful on face and trunk; hands, feet and areas with white hair respond poorly. Compared to long-standing patches, new ones are more likely to respond to medical therapy.

The treatment can be classified into

Medical

Medicines applied to the skin, such as:
Corticosteroid creams or ointments
Immunomodulator creams or ointments, such as Elidel & Protopic
Topical drugs such as methoxsalen (Oxsoralen)
Oral Medical treatment includes the use of immune-modulating drugs such as systemic corticosteroids, levamisole, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, vitamin supplements (especially vitamin B12 and folic acid).
Phototherapy NBUVB full body   A medical procedure in which your skin is exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA) or ultraviolet B (UVB) light from a special lamp in full body chambers.
Excimer (Targeted Phototherapy)   Targeted phototherapy, also called concentrated phototherapy, focused phototherapy and microphototherapy, involves delivery of ultraviolet radiation directly focused on, or targeted at, the skin lesion through special delivery mechanisms.
Surgical Procedures

Surgical treatment   Normal skin is used as donor tissue and then grafts are surgically transplanted on areas of Vitiligo treatment. The new skin grafts start producing pigment. Patients who are candidates for this procedure must have stable Vitiligo, or Vitiligo that has not changed for at least one year. The criteria of stability is taken as (a) no new White patches, (b) no extension of existing White patches and (c) no loss of pigmentation of previously repigmened patches for at least 1 year. This procedure can be used for patients with limited areas of Vitiligo and also in those with more extensive disease.
Melanocyte cell transplantation   In this procedure, a skin graft is taken from the patients own thigh, this skin is then treated with an enzyme known as trypsin which separates all the layers of the skin and thus Melanocytes and Keratinocytes are concentrated. The Vitiligo (Skin White Spot) skin is then removed with the use of diamond burs or Lasers and the cells are transplanted. The advantage of this procedure is that cell culture is not needed and that skin harvesting from the donor area, preparation of cell separation and application of Melanocytes can all be undertaken in a single 3-h procedure.
Blister Grafting   In this procedure, blisters are created on your pigmented skin primarily by using suction. The tops of the blisters are then cut out and transplanted to a depigmented skin area where a blister of equal size has been created and removed.
Punch grafting  Punch grafting is the simplest and the least expensive of all the grafting procedures in Vitiligo. The procedure involves the transfer of circular pieces or punches of skin tissue from the donor area into similar shaped pits that are made on the recipient skin. The size of these punches can range from 1 mm to 2 mm and they are spaced 5-10 mm apart on the recipient skin.
De-pigmentation  Depigmentation involves fading the rest of the skin on your body to match the already-white areas. If you have vitiligo on more than 50 percent of your body, depigmentation may be the best treatment option. In this procedure, the drug monobenzone (Benoquin) is applied twice a day to the pigmented areas of your skin until they match the already-depigmented areas. Some patients who are resistant to depigmentation with drug monobenzone (Benoquin) will need Q Switch NDYAG Laser to destroy the pigment cells. Depigmentation in most patients is a permanent technique in which the whole body is gradually turned white.
Color (Camouflage)   Camouflage used to treat vitiligo can be classified into two- temporary and permanent. 
Temporary colouring is the method which intends to blend the white patches with the rest of the body s colour. The method is done using coloured creams to the affected skin. Those creams will have the same shade as that of the natural skin. Applying the creams make the patches less noticeable.
Tattooing (permanent coloring)   Tattooing is injecting artificial pigment into the depigmented area. After selecting the pigment shade which matches the surrounding skin color, the pigment granules are implanted into the depigmented patch either with a manual or electrically driven needles. Though the patch resembles the surrounding normal skin, it may permanently fade or acquire a bluish hue after 1   2 years which is distinctly noticeable and may become unacceptable. Hence, tattooing is usually not advised unless the patch is in an inoperable site.

Best Vitiligo Treatment  - Medical & Surgical Methods

Homeopathic treatment for acne and pimples

Acne is a major problem amongst teenagers and many grownups. It is not only a cause of major distress, irrespective of age; it is also an indicator of other health problems. Homeopathy has permanent cure for acne and pimples, though the process tends to take longer as it removes the root cause of the problem. The following medicines are said to be very effective in getting cured of acne and pimples for good:

1. For boil-like pimples: hepar sulphur is advised when the eruptions in the face are painful. In such cases, the pimples take form of boils and have abscess in them. This medicine is also effective for large cyst like acnes.

2. For pus-filled acne: in situations where pimples lead to pus formation, silicea is advised. This gets worse during the winters as the person is not able to bear the cold. The body requires warmth.

3. Food induced acne: one of the reasons for pimple or acne is eating rich, spicy or junk foods. This situation also leads to irregularities in menses in girls. This condition aggravates during the summers. Delayed or scanty periods mostly lead to pimples on the face and the body. Pulsatilla is prescribed in such situations.

4. For red inflammations: yet another common reason of acne is gastric problems. One of the most common medicines in homeopathy for acne is nux vom or nux vomica. People suffering from acne because of gastric issues usually have red and blotchy skin.

5. For acne due to oily skin: natrum mur is prescribed when pimples happen because of oily skin.

Along with these, there are a few standard instructions. Keep your skin clean and avoid touching, squeezing, scratching or picking on the pimples. In fact, avoid touching your face, especially the pimple affected area. Drink a lot of water, use water based cosmetics, and avoid greasy foods.



How Homeopathy Cracks Acne Based On Its Cause

Depending on the way you look at it, a mole can be a beauty spot or a blemish. For most people, facial moles are undesired. Moles can be described as clusters of pigmented skin cells. They appear in the form of dark spots on the skin that vary in size, color and texture. Apart from the face, moles appear commonly on the arms and legs but can affect any part of the body. In most cases, moles are harmless but in some cases, they may turn precancerous and need to be removed. However, most moles are removed for only cosmetic reasons. Moles can be removed through home remedies, surgery or laser treatment.

Mole removal depends on the type, size and location of the mole. When treated with lasers, layers of the mole are removed one by one by evaporating the affected cells. This does not cause any sort of bleeding and does not disturb healthy tissues adjacent to the mole. It is also considered to be a largely pain-free procedure but you may feel a slight tingling sensation. After the laser procedure, a scab forms over the affected area which later falls off. You may also notice slight swelling and redness in the area for a few days after the procedure.

Laser treatment for mole removal has a number of advantages.

As it is a non-invasive procedure, there are minimal chances of infection
Multiple moles can be treated in a single session
Laser beams can reach parts of the face, nose and ears that may be difficult to reach through other procedures.
There are minimal disturbance and injury to the adjacent healthy tissues
Healing is much faster than with other procedures
There is a very low chance of scarring
However, one of the biggest disadvantages of laser therapy is that it can only be used to treat surface moles as the laser beam cannot penetrate deep into the skin. Also, laser treatment, if not recommended in cases where the mole may be considered precancerous as the laser beam will destroy the mole leaving nothing that can be used for a biopsy. Lasers are also seldom used to treat large moles or birthmarks. The cost of removing a mole with laser treatment depends on the size, location and number of moles. In some cases, more than one session may be required and this too could influence the cost of the procedure.

Moles - How Laser Treatment Can Help You Get Rid Of Them?

Burning your skin is a very traumatic experience and can leave behind scars that remind one of the traumatic incident. Scarring caused by burns may fade a little with time but are usually permanent. Apart from affecting your appearance severe burns can also affect the functioning of the body. Burns can make a person withdraw socially by making him or her afraid of how people will accept them with their scars as well as make them depressed about their appearance.

Burn repair surgery can be categorised under two headings: Acute and Reconstructive

Acute repair surgery happens immediately after the burn and deals with large burns and deep burns that affect critical areas. The focus here is to aim for saving of life of burn patient with earliest wound healing with various surgical means.
Reconstructive burn surgery addresses the deformities & scars after the initial burn wounds have healed. The goal here is to improve the appearance of the scars and ensure improvement of functioning. 
There are many types of reconstructive surgeries for burns and the type of surgery best suited to a patient is based on the location of the scar, the extent of scarring and the patient s personal goals.

Skin grafts: This involves the removal of healthy skin from one part of the body and transplanting it to the burn site. This split thickness skin graft include only a few outer layers of skin & full thickness graft involve the entire dermis. This is used in cases of deep burns where full thickness of dermis is affected. Also skin grafts are used for defects following release of burn contracture . 
Flaps: These are thick skin tissues with its own blood supply, used to cover exposed vital structures like vessels , tendons, nerves, bones, etc especially in deep electrical burns of extremities. 
Free flap procedure: In this Microvascular Surgery , muscle, bone or skin is transferred from one part of the body to another to reconstruct huge defects after contracture release or for cosmetic improvement of ugly burn scars. 
Tissue expansion: This involves the insertion of a balloon expander under the skin near the burn scars & deformities. As the balloon is filled with saline, the skin stretches and grows. Once the skin has stretched enough, the expander is removed and the skin can then be used to replace the burn scars & deformities.
This procedure has many advantages as the skin colour and texture are a near perfect match thus reducing scarring to a large extent. However, it is a very slow procedure and can take a few months.

Burn Repair Surgery - How Can It Help To Reduce Deformities & Scars?

6 effective ways to get rid of warts

Warts are small, rough patches on the skin (resembling cauliflowers) that are caused due to the human papillomavirus (hpv- a dna virus that can infect humans). In this condition, only the topmost layer of your skin gets infected and acquires a rough texture. Warts are not fatal (they do not cause cancer), but they are contagious in nature and do not vanish easily. 

Read on to find the most effective ways to get rid of warts. 

1. Over-the-counter wart removers
Over-the-counter wart treatments containing salicylic acid (a type of fungicide) as an active ingredient are commonly used for effective removal of warts. These medications generally eliminate warts by removing the topmost layer of the skin, following the peel-off process.

2. Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy, also known as freezing therapy, is generally performed by a dermatologist and consists of the use of liquid nitrogen for freezing the warts. The application of the chemical results in the formation of a blister around the warts, which shed off after about a week. It takes almost 3 to 4 weeks to have completely wart-free skin. This method proves to be more effective when used with salicylic acid-based wart removers.

3. Laser treatment
Another form of wart removal is pulsed-dye laser treatment. An ablative co2 laser acts by cutting and burning the wart. In this type of treatment the affected blood vessels are burnt, leading to the death of the infected tissue, following which the wart too disappears. However, this method is not commonly used if other treatment methods tend to work as it is painful and may leave behind scars.

4. Vaccine
Sometimes your dermatologist may recommend the use of human papillomavirus (hpv) vaccine to successfully eliminate warts.

5. Bleomycin
In this type of treatment each wart is injected with a shot of bleomycin, a medicine that fights cancer. However, this treatment is not preferred generally as it may be painful and comes with side effects like nail loss if the wart is present on the finger.

6. Immune therapy
When warts refuse to vanish after the use of all common treatments, this method is put into use. This type of treatment involves the use of medications or solutions, which strengthens your immune system so that it can repel warts. In this case your warts may be injected with an antigen or a solution or cream may be applied on them. 

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6 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Warts - Cauliflower-like Skin Inflammation

5 natural remedies for eczema
 
Eczema is a medical condition of the skin which usually happens to infants and children but can happen to grown-ups as well. It can be identified by dryness, small red bumps, scaling of the skin, inflammation, flaking, blistering or thickening of the skin. 

Some natural ways you can treat eczema at home are:

1. Magnesium supplements: magnesium is an important mineral for our skin. Usually if there is a deficiency, one gets eczema. Magnesium bath does wonder to eczema and can be done by mixing a cup of epsom salt of magnesium flake, 10 to 15 drops of essential oils, half teaspoon of natural vanilla extract and half a cup of sea or himalayan salt.

2. Rub coconut oil: coconut oil has antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties which makes it a good option to use on the affected areas. Rub the oil on the affected areas in gentle strokes and massage lightly. You can do this up to 3-4 times in a day.

3. Apply aloe vera: aloe vera is probably the best natural product to use on your sin. Applying a bit of aloe vera on the affected area and letting it absorb into the skin, for a few hours every day is a good idea.

4. Use almond leaves: almond leaves, if crushed and made into a thick paste with water, can be applied on the affected areas of the skin.

5. Have green tea: drinking green tea is also said to be helpful in curing eczema. The anti-oxidants green tea is famous for assists the body in fighting against skin inflammation.

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Skin Sense: 5 Home Remedies For Eczema Relief

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