WorldVitiligo Day is being celebrated on 25th of June every year as it isaimed to create awareness about the skin condition vitiligo.
The worldstarted observing World Vitiligo Day in 2012 with an aim to focus on thedisease vitiligo with international collaborative research and public awarenesscampaign about the myths and reality and raise funds needed for research andeducation.
If youaren’t aware of vitiligo, it is a skin condition where portions of the skinlose its pigment. This happens when skin pigment cells are unable to functionor when they die.
Still, thecause of vitiligo is not known but research does advise that it may arise fromautoimmune, stress, genetic, neutral or viral causes.
Vitiligo isalso classified into two main categories, Segmental and Non-Segmental.
SegmentalVitiligo affects areas of the skin that are associated with dorsal roots fromthe spinal cord and most often affects one side of the body. This type ofVitiligo spreads more rapidly.
In Non-segmentalvitiligo there is usually symmetry in where the de-pigmentation patches occur.New patches can occur over time and can be over large areas of the body or canbe in particular areas. Non-segmental vitiligo can occur at any age whereas segmentalvitiligo is more likely to occur in teenage years.
Unfortunatelythere is currently no cure for vitiligo however there are treatments availablewhich include topical steroids, calcineurin inhibitors, phototherapy and ofcourse skin camouflage products.
Vitiligo isin no way a life threatening condition however it can have a big impact on ofthe sufferer’s psychological and psychosocial well being.
Visibleaffected exposed areas of the skin, particularly areas such as the hands andface can cause a negative impact for the individual, especially if the contrastbetween the white patches and their skin color is very significant.
People with vitiligocan suffer from depression, anxiety, social embarrassment and they can feelvery self conscious due to their physical appearance. Because of this peopleliving with vitiligo usually have a highly significant decrease to theirquality of life and their social lives can be severely affected.
Stigmatizationis also common which often leads to avoidance of social situations as manysufferers can be afraid of discrimination and insults occurring.
The patientswho are suffering from the skin disease come together on World Vitiligo Day andthis helps in building their confidences as they share the challenges that areassociated with the condition.
WorldVitiligo Day serves as a form of therapy where patients are encouraged to formsupport groups that can help in dealing with psychological trauma.
On WorldVitiligo Day, people of all age groups should be encouraged to spread theawareness about Vitiligo and how to deal with it.