Asthma and vitiligo

My 3 1/2 yrs old  daughter has vitiligo. she was diagnosed by a local derm in minneapolis who prescribed protopic for patch on her leg. i used ayurvedic treatment along with it. when i was in india, i took her to a dermatologist who is supposed to be a good one for vitiligo treatment. he looked at the spot with the light and asked whether my daughter is asthmatic. he told me these could be  because of asthma. My daughter wasn't diagnosed with asthma that time so i told him no. he gave me elidel, some mild steroid to be used on weekend, vitilax, and meligain. i don't know exactly what helped but her patch is pigmented now but i see some new white dots on her ankles, so i can't say its completely gone. now am back home and i see that my daughter has asthmatic symptoms. she gets chronic cough with viral infections and after just running or jumping. she has eczema which makes the doctor say she cud have asthma. but they haven't diagnosed her yet as she didn't had wheezing when i took her to the doc. i heard thyroid and vit is linked , does anyone else has vit and asthma?  or got vit as symptoms of asthma ? am more confused now about her vit.

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  • Asthma, Vitiligo, Eczema and Hypothyroid have at least one possible factor common.. all of these can arise due to gluten sensitivity/ gluten intolerance leading to hyper active yet faulty immune system which can result in various forms of autoimmune diseases such as above.

     

    Gluten and Asthma Connection - http://www.allergy-details.com/asthma/wheat-gluten-and-asthma/

     

    Gluten and Vitiligo Connection- http://surefoodsliving.com/2010/12/vitiligo-and-gluten-intolerance/

     

    Gluten and Eczema connection - http://www.helium.com/items/2078563-the-connection-between-gluten-a...

     

    Gluten and Hypothyroid connection- http://thyroid.about.com/cs/latestresearch/a/celiac.htm

     

    If you are daughter is only 3 and have all these problems already, you need to be really proactive about getting rid of the root cause of these problems. If ignored there can be other more serious autoimmune disorders waiting..

     

    Most derms are happy treating the symptoms only.. treating white spots and eczema by using UVB lights which just suppress your immune system for a brief while.. the root problem causing the immune system to over-react remains unsolved leading to an inevitable relapse of the vit and eczema. 

     

    I found out about my gluten intolerance a bit too late in my life, after the irrepairable damage had already happened regarding my vit and thyroid. Still I am relieved to get rid of other related immune related issues which had just started to creep in my life. My health has never been better once I shifted to a gluten free diet. 

     

    I wish your daughter all the best. She is too young to be fighting all this on her own.

     

    Cheers

     

    Sanjay

     

     

     

    • i called up and talked to her pediatritian today . she said asthma and eczema is not autoimmune disease whereas vitiligo is. when i asked her about whether my kid needs to be tested for allergies, she said its not required right now as it don't seem necessary. can be done after she is 5. my kid had only 2 episodes of eczema flare-up this year. she wants to see her for her chronic cough which she said cud be because of wheezing. she also said that kids with childhood eczema and wheezing(asthma) outgrow it. i don't know whom to consult for these issues. there is no autoimmune specialist. i'll wait for the diagnosis of asthma. also, i'll try to switch to gluten free diet for sometime to see if that helps.but u know its so  difficult to restrict ur kids from eating things they love. i feel guilty.
      • At the moment there is at least one institute who is actively working in the right direction regarding autoimmune diseases. It is called "the institute of functional medicine". http://www.functionalmedicine.org/about/whatis.asp

        Their approach is most effective against all types of immune related problems. If you are looking for a suitable practitioner in MN, you can find it here. http://www.functionalmedicine.org/findfmphysician/form.asp  There are both dermatologist and pediatricians in the list who may help your kid in much better way than your current doctor.

        It is not only gluten, it could also be other culprits like dairy etc. You need to find the right culprit. Food intolerance seems to be the common factor among the problems your kid is facing, so testing it out and putting your concerns to rest is not such a bad idea.

        http://www.foodintol.com/health.asp

        Yes it is not easy to control kids dietary habits but if you have to choose between keeping your kids constantly on steroids, immuno-modulators etc AND giving her the non toxic food, the choice should be obvious.

        cheers

        Sanjay

         

         

         

        • thanks for the links. i'll to try to get in touch with one soon.
          • Dear Nisha ,,,sorry that you kid have to go to this situation... As Sanjay say instead of giving your kid steroids and a lot of unknown stoff give her non toxic food, some times it hard to know what is sensitive and allergy for kids.

            Keep her happy ,Give her what she want as long as she is not very allergy for it and  give her in moderation there is no scientific proof about deit and vitiligo ,,why do a kid have to go to all this trubble situation,,,one ting i know kids repigment naturally so don`t worry don`t stress too much about the condition.

            You have even tried ayurvedic treatment for kid, I have tried it before it is it is the most frustrating treatment with all the diet restrictions and hard treatment BTW do you know what it contain?

             

            Please read this post about a girl repigmented naturally.

             

            http://www.vitiligofriends.org/forum/topics/my-vitiligo-went-away-i...

             

             

            Bamsegutt

             

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