Do You Treat Clients with Vitiligo? What You Should Know…

Do you treat clients with Vitiligo?  For those who don’t yet know what Vitiligo is, Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. With this disease pigment cells, or melanocytes are destroyed and the result is irregularly shaped white patches that appear on the skin on any part of the body. It is common to see these patches on the exposed areas of the body such as the neck, eyes, face, nostrils, nipples, navel and genitalia, around burns, scrapes and cuts, around pigmented areas and in body folds like the armpits and the groin. Hair may go to gray early on the scalp of the Vitiligo sufferer and the retina may be affected as well.

The cause is the loss of melanin produced by the melanocytes. The reason Vitiligo destroys the cells is still a mystery but there is a theory that vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder which causes the immune system of the body to mistakenly target the body’s own cells, thinking them to be outside invaders. Those who have Vitiligo will have it in different degrees, barely noticeable in some and extremely obvious in others. Those who are light skinned may not notice much difference or notice it only in the summer when they usually tan. Those who have vitiligo will have a increased risk of developing other autoimmune disease including hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid; hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid; Addison’s disease which causes a decrease in adrenal gland function and pernicious anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitiligo affects about one percent of the world population and makes no distinction according to ethic origin or gender. It is more easily noticed on those with darker skin when these areas do not tan. It is also hereditary in about a third of those who have it. It usually starts on the hands, the feet or the face and generally the pigmentation loss is progressive. Half of those who have vitiligo get it before age 20.

Being aware of vitiligo will assist you in helping your clients to deal with the disease. For many it is embarrassing and for some discomforting. Fortunately however it does not appear to be life threatening. However, it is an indication of other diseases the patient may be prone to that could be life threatening, so as a professional recommending that your client see a physician to be treated is a wise course of action.