Prepared for _______________________________

The Face and Skin Center at University of Mississippi Health Care • 601-815-3374 • www.thefaceandskincenter.com

Vitiligo What is Vitiligo? Patients with vitiligo develop white spots in the skin that vary in size and location. The spots occur when pigment cells, or melanocytes, are destroyed and the pigment melanin can no longer be produced. Melanocytes normally occur throughout the skin and in the hair follicles, mouth, eyes, and some parts of the central nervous system. In vitiligo, pigment cells can be lost in any of these areas. Common sites of pigment loss are:

Exposed areas: hands, face, upper part of the chest Around body openings: eyes, nostrils, mouth, nipples, umbilicus, genitalia Body folds: arm pits, groin Sites of injury: cuts, scrapes, burns Hair: early graying of hair of the scalp, beard or other areas Area immediately surrounding pigmented moles Choroid of the eye

The Vitiligo Foundation: The foundation was established in September 1985 in Tyler, Texas as a fully qualified non-profit tax exempt charitable foundation. Objectives of the foundation:

To locate, inform and counsel vitiligo patients and their families. To increase public awareness and concern for the vitiligo patient. To broaden the concern for the patient within the medical community. To encourage, promote and fund increased scientific and clinical research on the cause,

treatment and ultimate cure of vitiligo. To establish a central vitiligo center and local treatment facilities.

National Vitiligo Foundation 611 South Fleishel Tyler, TX 75701 Phone: 903-531-0074 Fax: 903-525-1234 Email: info@nvfi.org Web: www.nvfi.org

Treatment: The course of the disease is unpredictable. It is unusual to regain significant color spontaneously. Treatment options include:

1. Topical steroids: These may help re-pigment small areas. They can thin the skin however.

The Face and Skin Center at University of Mississippi Health Care • 601-815-3374 • www.thefaceandskincenter.com

2. Sunscreens: Sunscreen prevents tanning of normal skin and minimizes the contrast

between tanned skin and the white patches.

3. Coloring agents: Vitadye and self-tanning products can be obtained at the drug store and applied to the white patches to darken them. The color lasts for a few weeks.

4. Cover-up makeup: Dermablend or Covermark can be obtained at the drugstore or

department store.

5. Light therapy: This may be used in older children and adults. It requires a significant time commitment and has potential side effects. (It often requires a year or more of twice weekly treatments.)

6. For children: Sunscreen and cover-up measures are usually the best therapy.

7. Aspirin: Some studies in adults have shown an aspirin a day may be helpful. Aspirin

should not be given to anyone under 12 years of age.

8. Vitamins: Folic acid 2mg orally twice a day and Vitamin C 500mg twice a day with 1ml of Vitamin B12 every two weeks has been helpful in some patients.

For Questions or Emergency Care: Call the office at 601-815-3374. You may need to speak with the doctor on-call.