Lecucoderma, also known as vitiligo, is a distressing skin condition. The word literally means `
white skin'. There isa gradual loss of pigment melanin from the skin layers which results in white
patches. These patches look ugly, especially in persons with dark complexions.
The condition does not cause any organic harm. It , however, brings about great psychological
tension to the patient who is more embarassed than the victim of any pain or discomfort. The
condition thus, besides being a medical problem, also becomes a social stigma.
Leucoderma is a fairly common disorder and it affects one per cent or more of the world's
population. The
incidence is a little higher in India. The disorder can occur at any age in either
sex in normal skin. It is, however, more common in women than men. The most affected areas
are the hands, the neck, the back and the wrist in that order.
Symptoms
The problem usually starts with a small white spot and later on it develops into patches. These
patches are pale in the beginning but become whiter and whiter as time passes due to loss of
pigment. As spots enlarge, they merge into each other and, in course of time, form a very broad
patch. In some cases, most of the skin of the body may be covered with white patches.
Causes
Many wrong beliefs are prevalent about the causes of
leucoderma. It is not caused by eating fish
and drinking milk at the same time, as is generally believed because even vegetarians suffer
from this disorder. Other food combinations such as pumpkin and milk, onion and milk as
possible causes of
leucoderma also have no basis.
Leucoderma is not caused by any germs ; nor is it due bad blood. It is neither
infectious nor
contagious. It cannot be transmitted from one person to another by physical contact.
The main causes of
leucoderma are excessive mental worry, chronic or acute gastric disorder,
impaired
hepatic function such as
jaundice, worms or other parasites in the alimentary canal,
ailments like typhoid which affect the gastrointestinalm tract, defective perspirative mechanism
and burn injuries. Often the hormone secreting glands are involved in this disorder. Heredity is
also a causative factor and about 30 per cent of patients have a family history of the disorder.
Treatment
In nature cure, the treatment of leudoderma consists of adoption of constitutional measures to
cleanse the system of accumulated toxins. This enables the healing power within the body to
assert itself, and produce normalcy. To begin with, the patient should undertake a fast on juices
for about a week. IN this regimen, he or she should take fruit or vegetable juices, diluted with
water on 50 : 50 basis every two or three hours from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. The bowels should
be cleansed daily with warm water during this period.
After the juice fast, the patient may adopt a restricted diet consisting of fresh fruits, raw or
steamed vegetables and whole meal bread or chappaties. Curd and milk may be added to this
diet after a few days. The patient may thereafter gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet of
seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables and fruits. The large proportion of the diet should consist of
raw foods. Seeds and beans such as alfalfa, mung and soyabeans canbe sprouted. This diet
may be supplemented with cold-pressed vegetable oils, honey and yeast. Juice fasting may be
repeated at intervals of two months. The patient should avoid tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages
and all condiments and highly flavoured dishes. He or she should also avoid sugar, white flour
products, denatured cereals like polished rice and pearled barley and tinned or bottled foods.
Home Remedies
Certain home remedies have been found useful in the treatment of
leucoderma. The best known
of such remedies is the use of seeds of psoralea, known as babchi in Hindi. Seeds should be
steeped in the juice of ginger or cow's urine for three days. The fluids should be renewed every
day. The seeds should then be rubbed with hands to remove their husks, dried in the shade
andpowdered. One gram of this powder should be taken every day with fresh milk for 40 days
continuously. The ground seeds should also be applied to the white spots.
Babchi seeds, combined with tamarind seeds, are also useful. Equal quantity of both the seeds
should be steeped in water for three to four days. They should then be shelled and dried inthe
shade. They should be ground into paste and applied to the white patches for a week. If the
application of this paste causes itching or the white spots become red and a fluid being to ooze
out, it should be discontinued. If there is no itching or reddening, babchi seeds should be taken
also for 40 days.
Another useful remedy for
leucoderma is red clay found by the river side or on hill slopes. The
clay should be mixed in ginger juice and applied over the white spots once a day. The copper
containedin the clay seems to bring back skin pigmentation and ginger juice serves as a milk
stimulant, facilitating increased blood flow to the spots. Drinking water kept overnight in a copper
vessel also helps.
A paste made from the seeds of the radish is valuable in treating
leucoderma. About 35 grams of
these seeds should be powdered in vinegar and applied on the white patches. For better results,
seeds should be finely pounded, mixed with a little white arsenic and soaked in vinegar at night.
After two hours, when leaves appear, it should be rubbed on the
leucoderma patches.
The use of turmeric and mustard oil is also considered beneficial in the treatment of
leucoderma.
About 500 grams of turmeric should be pounded and soaked in eight kgs. of water at night. It
should be heated in the morning till only one kg. of water is left. It should then be strained and
mixed with 500 grams of mustard oil. This mixture should be heated till only the oil is left. It
should be applied on white patches every morning and evening for a few months.