Treatment 

Vitiligo does not always need treatment. For some people with light skin, simply avoiding a suntan on areas of normal skin is enough to make the patches of vitiligo almost unnoticeable. Other people use makeup, skin dyes, or self-tanning products to cover up the vitiligo. Self-tanning products are creams that give the skin a tan color, but not a true tan. The color tends to wear off after a few days. These strategies do not change the condition, but they can make the vitiligo less noticeable. In children, vitiligo usually is just covered up.

In adults, if covering up the vitiligo is not enough, a medical treatment may be tried, although results often cannot be seen for 6 to 18 months. The choice of treatment depends on the person's wishes, how many white patches the person has, and how widespread the patches are. Not every treatment works for every person. There are several choices:

* Corticosteroid (kor-ti-ko-STEER-oid) creams can be applied to the skin and sometimes can return color to small areas of vitiligo.

* Psoralen (SOR-a-len) and ultraviolet* therapy entails taking medication by mouth or applied to the skin and then exposing the light patches of skin to ultraviolet A light from a special lamp. Ultraviolet A is the part of sunlight that can cause the skin to tan, and psoralens are substances that react with ultraviolet light to darken the skin.

* Skin grafting is an operation that involves moving skin from normal areas to white patches. It is useful only for a small number of people with vitiligo.

* Depigmentation therapy involves using medication to fade the normal skin to match the whitened areas of vitiligo.

Living with Vitiligo

The white patches of vitiligo have no natural protection from the sun and are very easily sunburned. People with vitiligo should be careful to avoid exposure to midday sun, to cover up with clothing and a hat, and to use a sunscreen with a high SPF (sun protection factor) rating.

责任编辑：admin