Is Vitiligo a Contagious Disease?

Vitiligo is a skin condition affecting a small percentage of people all over the world. This is characterized by the presence of white patches anywhere on the skin. This greatly impacts the physical appearance of a person and should be treated immediately to avoid the spread of the patches to the entire body. There is one major question in the minds of the patient and those around him: Is vitiligo contagious or not?

As you learned on the previous page, vitiligo appears because the body can no longer produce melanin. It is not caused by a germ or virus that can be transmitted from one person to the next, so the condition isn't contagious. In fact, vitiligo patients may feel isolated and alone simply because of their looks. Avoiding them out of fear that you may catch the disease could add to their pain

Lee Thomas, an Emmy Award-winning African-American television news anchor, understands the isolation and pain associated with having vitiligo. He first noticed white spots on his scalp more than a decade ago. Thomas said he hid his condition for as long as he could -- about four years -- because he feared other people's reactions to his appearance.
VITILIGO-A NON CONTAGIOUS DISEASE
Some significant facts regarding vitiligo are as under:Vitiligo is in fact a skin disorder.
White patches that appear on the skin are due to vitiligo
This particular color discoloration is due to the weakness of cells that produce melanin
Melanin is something that is responsible of our color skin

Why Vitiligo Seems Contagious ?

• It is a natural phenomenon that when somebody suffers from any disease, there comes doubt regarding its transmission. This is fact that our blood, secretions etc. may play role in spread of diseases but it varies from disease to disease. Although it is an accepted truth that vitiligo is not a contagious disorder yet we see some people are doubtful about it.The fact that is associated with vitiligo is that the patient makes himself separated from others due to this disorder.
• Initially, there comes a sense of complexity in sufferer's mind due to which the patient tries to avoid the social interactions with fellows etc.
• This kind of self made social boycott gives a feeling of some contagious disease, though there is nothing like that.
• There are so many evidences that prove this fact
• Vitiligo is not found in whole family members that are because of its non contagious nature

According to some skin experts, vitiligo is just a cosmetic disability that is limited to a single person
If vitiligo would be contagious, there was a huge ratio of patient across the world

It is fact that both kinds of vitiligo i.e. segmental (SV) and non segmental vitiligo (NSV) differ with each other on the basis of many aspects.

Phototherapy Treatment For Vitiligo

Phototherapy is the use of specific wavelengths of light shone directly on affected areas of skin. This light occurs naturally as a component of sunlight and is part of the ultraviolet light spectrum.

Phototherapy uses ultraviolet light—the same type of light found in natural sunlight—that has been specially filtered to deliver just those wavelengths most useful for stimulation of repigmentation. Exposure to these focused ultraviolet rays, called UVB rays, may increase the number of melanocytes in areas of skin affected by vitiligo and prevent new white patches from forming.
UV light, or Phototherapy, can help create repigmentation of vitiligo. It is currently considered the "gold standard" treatment when vitiligo covers 20% or more of the body. This process is slow, working from the outer edges of each patch inward, so regular Phototherapy vitiligo treatment is prescribed. Phototherapy vitiligo treatment may continue twice a week for a year or more. Phototherapy equipment has been well-studied and has been proven to be an effective treatment for vitiligo. Phototherapy treatment is generally well-tolerated in both adults and children.
Phototherapy is the Gold Standard for treating white patches of vitiligo
Treatments are quick, painless, safe and effective in up to 80% of cases
Phototherapy stimulates pigment cells to produce melanin, in turn recolouring white patches of vitiligo
Each phototherapy session takes less than a minute to perform, and if you hold a Medicare Card – treatments are bulk billed
Specialists often combine special Vitamin D creams, and anti-inflammatory creams with phototherapy to provide even better results

Phototherapy works best on vitiligo of the face and neck

Symptoms and Types of Vitiligo

Vitiligo results from a change in your melanocytes, the cells that make pigment (coloring) in your skin and other areas of your body.
Symptoms of vitiligo include an often rapid pigment loss in several areas of the skin. The initial appearance of the white patches can be followed by a stable period without any progression of the condition. Later on, further cycles of pigment loss and stability may be observed. Vitiligo commonly affects areas on the skin that are exposed to sun, body folds (such as armpits), previous sites of injury, areas aroundmoles, or areas around body orifices (openings). It is rare for pigment to return once the white patches have developed. Vitiligo can also affect the eyes and hair.

Different patterns of discoloration depend on the type of vitiligo that you have. These may be important in your diagnosis.

Localized

Focal: This type is characterized by one or more areas of pigment loss in a confined area.
Segmental: This type manifests as one or more areas of pigment loss on only one side of the body. It occurs most commonly in children.This type of vitiligo is not associated with thyroid or other autoimmune disorders.
Mucosal: Mucous membranes alone are affected.

Generalized

Acrofacial: Depigmentation occurs on parts away from the center of the body such as face, head, hands and feet.
Vulgaris: This is characterized by scattered patches that are widely distributed.
Mixed: Acrofacial and vulgaris vitiligo occur in combination, or segmental and acrofacial vitiligo and/or vulgaris involvement are noted in combination.

Universal: This is complete or nearly complete depigmentation.

Vitiligo and Loss of Skin Colour

Vitiligo, a relatively common skin condition, is sometimes linked to hearing loss, autoimmune diseases, or other disorders.
Vitiligo is a disease that causes a change to the color of your skin, resulting in patches of lighter skin.

Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition that causes white patches to develop as a result of a lack of the substance melanin that helps to give skin its colour.
Vitiligo can affect any part of the body, but it usually seen on areas exposed to the sun, such as the neck, face and hands.

Most people with vitiligo lose pigment in patches of normally pigmented skin, which is replaced by flat, white patches with irregular borders. This loss of pigmentation can occur in small patches on one side of the body or in large areas covering over 50 percent of the body. These patches are usually areas of your body that are exposed to the sun, such as your:
hands
face
arms
feet
However, your genitalia can also be affected.

Vitiligo can be treated but not cured. You’ll need to manage the disorder throughout your life. The National Vitiligo Foundation estimates that 0.5 to 1 percent of the general population has vitiligo.

The condition isn’t contagious, doesn’t cause pain, and isn’t medically dangerous. Vitiligo affects males and females of all races equally. The loss of pigment, called depigmentation, is more noticeable in people with dark skin.
Learn about :
chinese medicine treatment for vitiligo
what are symptoms of vitiligo

What is Vitiligo

Vitiligo consists of white patches of skin that are caused by the loss of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. Melanin is produced by special cells called melanocytes, which are destroyed in people who have vitiligo. Experts are still working out the details to understand why this disease occurs, but evidence strongly suggests that vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder, in which the body's immune system mistakenly targets and injures these specific cells within your own body.

Vitiligo can cause minor changes or extensive changes in the skin. In some people, it may be hardly noticeable, while in others it is obvious. In dark-skinned people the vitiligo patches are obvious since they contrast with normal skin. Light-skinned people may have fewer cosmetic concerns, but patches without pigment can become obvious in the summer because unaffected skin tans but vitiligo skin does not tan.
Vitiligo occurs in about 1 percent to 2 percent of the population. Approximately 30 percent of people with vitiligo have a family history of the condition. About half of people with vitiligo start showing symptoms before age 20.

People with vitiligo have an increased risk of developing certain diseases, such as hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), type 1 diabetes, Addison's disease (a disease that causes a decrease in the function of the adrenal gland) and pernicious anemia (vitamin B12 deficiency). Also, people with these conditions have an increased risk of developing vitiligo. These medical conditions are all problems that involve the immune system attacking cells in the body.

Learn more about how to treat vitiligo

Eat eggs bad for Leucoderma (Vitiligo) patients?

Diet restriction has much important role in Vitiligo & Leucoderma. Vitiligo & Leucoderma treatment also require food restriction for proper healing of patches. The diet restrictions mentioned below also helps in control of spread in Vitiligo.
But many vitiligo patients have this question: Can i eat Eggs? Eggs are one of the largest sources of phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) in the human diet. A study published in the scientific journal Nature showed that dietary phosphatidylcholine is digested by bacteria in the gut and eventually converted into the compound TMAO, a compound linked with increased heart disease.

We can Lower Intake (can take once/twice a week) egg,many food that needs lower intake ,such as Poultry ,Dairy products,Milk,Ice-cream,Chocolates.

About Acral lesions of vitiligo

Vitiligo is a disfiguring condition that can cause considerable psychological distress to patients. Vitiligo lesions on acral areas and joints are considered difficult to treat, and they are unsuitable for surgical treatment because of their poor response. There are few studies on the management of those lesions with noncultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation.
Acral lesions of vitiligo are usually resistant to conventional lines of treatment as well as surgical interventions.
We retrospectively analysed data for patients who had undergone non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation for treatment of vitiligo. In total, 36 patients with 80 lesions over acral areas and joints were reviewed: 33 patients had generalized vitiligo, while the remaining three patients had focal vitiligo, and they had been followed up for 6-18 months.
RESULTS:Of the 80 treated lesions, 51 had regained > 75% repigmentation and 23 had regained 50-75% repigmentation. The remaining six lesions, which were all no the distal fingers or toes and the ankle joint, had a poor response.

Vitiligo continues to be an enigmatic disease defying a consensus on the definition and classification. Acrofacial vitiligo (AFV) is currently classified as a form of generalized vitiligo (GV), under non-segmental vitiligo (NSV). However, there is no scientific evidence of these being distinct diseases as they may evolve in time in to generalized vitiligo. AFV can be seen with either a limited involvement of the lips, tips of the fingers/toes and penile shaft as the ‘lip-tip’ form; or, acral vitiligo (AV) in various stages of centripetal progression to the trunk.
Learn about Acral Vitiligo Treatment

Is Vitiligo Contagious?

About Vitiligo disease can not be transmitted to each other this question, I believe many people are not able to say exactly the answer. So people always have vitiligo patients with certain prejudices in daily interactions, in fact, these are the wrong ideas, and opinions, vitiligo experts tell us clearly: Vitiligo disease is not contagious.
Is Vitiligo Contagious?
Speaking of those contagious diseases we all dreaded, such as such as SARS and HIV. But the process of infection of infectious diseases is the need to pathogens, pathogens constitute the main condition is contagious. We are talking about the so-called infection is contagious, refers to the process of a parasitic pathogen to others. Patients because of contact or by other media of a disease and infection, but are infectious disease pathogens through to completion.
If we know that vitiligo is pigment metabolism disorder induced by a skin disease, it is not caused by a pathogen, it actually does not have the disease leucoderma contagious pathogens. But because in everyday interpersonal communication, normal people often tinted glasses to treat these patients with vitiligo, which allows them to produce a loner inferiority, will therefore reluctant to contact with the people around, especially in those onset patients exposed parts even more.
Vitiligo patients will cause great mental stress and psychological burden. Therefore, we, as normal people, but also to know vitiligo disease is not contagious, we only take the initiative and contact leucoderma patients, to understand them, with our spiritual care to help them re-establish confidence in life, in order to make them live courage and active treatment of leucoderma disease.
Leucoderma patients will cause great mental stress and psychological burden. Therefore, we, as normal people, but also to know leucoderma disease is not contagious, we only take the initiative and contact vitiligo patients, to understand them, with our spiritual care to help them re-establish confidence in life, in order to make them live courage and active treatment of vitiligo disease.

When we already know exactly leucoderma disease is not contagious this answer, we have to respect these vitiligo patients. Because they have suffered too much from the pressure and burden others do not understand, with spiritual care to help them out of work pressure and burden is that we should act together.