Hey all. I'm a 29 year old mother, wife and trainer. I have battled with my skin for as long as I can remember. At the age of 3 I was diagnosed with asthma and eczema and my skin in all my childhood pictures was always rashy and white splotched, and I remember always being very self conscious. Kids don't understand. Into adulthood it seems that the white splotches would come and go and as long as I stayed away from the sun my skin would even out enough to not be so noticeable. Nowadays, there are more splotches in different areas and I am beyond stressed. My family doesn't understand and I don't know of anyone with this condition. It makes it hard to relate when I am battling this insecurity everyday no matter how much I try and stay positive it's not easy to accept that this condition is not in my control. I'm here to gain some perspective and to gain knowledge and tips and I appreciate this platform to vent a little. Thanks!
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I clearly understand your feelings. You have to keep fighting and have hope.
I will tell you what I understood about your case. Please reply with your considerations.
Introduction:
#1-Vitiligo is a symptom of something wrong that is happening inside your body.
#2-Vitiligo is only triggered in people that has genetic predisposition to this. That's the primary cause.
#3-You have to find the secondary causes that triggered the genetic predisposition.
#4-I'm assuming that you have NSV (non-segmental vitiligo), which appears on knees, elbows, face, feet, hands, etc. and usually in both sides of the body.
#5-If so, see the question list below: Have you
-checked hypothyrodism?
-tested food allergies
-tested celiac disease?
-tested dysbiosis (candida, yeast, h-pylori, parasites)?
-checked adrenal?
-checked liver?
You case:
Although there are many specific causes listed above that play a role in vitiligo, I believe that the direct cause that triggered your vitiligo was the rashes. Of course the rashes were caused (probably) by one (or more) of these causes above.
Conclusion:
You can start treating the outside (skin) at any time, however it might be a waste of time and money if you don't check list #5. A good treatment has to combine UVB-NB + Nutritional supplementation + Anti-oxidants + Cream (Elidel and pseudocatalase) + a good diet.
Well, after checking/fixing all this list #5, you will still have to start focusing the most likely causes that take place when vitiligo has already been triggered. They are hard to deal with. They are:
1-Physical trauma (65% responsible)=friction, scratch, injury, sun burn, itch, rashes, etc.
2-Oxidative stress (35% responsible)=lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, ROS, mitochondrial mutation, etc.
Oxidative stress can be caused by candida, parasites, h-pylori, food allergy, toxic chemical compounds and pollutants in your body, hydrogenated fats, all kinds of pollution , including air, water, and food, oils that have been heated to very high temperatures, cigarette smoke, directly inhaled or secondhand, dehydration, too much sugar, too much animal protein in your diet, geophysical stress like living near power lines or waste dumps, viral infections, preservatives in your food, drugs (over the counter and prescription), artificial food colorings and flavorings, plastics and phthalates, chemical cleaning supplies, chlorinated water that you drink, shower in or swim in, alcohol, pesticides in your food, radiation exposure, psychological and emotional stress, endurance exercise and * incredibly physical traumas * (muscle damaging anaerobic training, trauma or injury to muscle, bone and skin).
Both physical trauma and oxidative stress confuse the vitiligo sufferers' melanocytes, so that they produce a certain protein called MIA improperly. This MIA protein is supposed to be produced only in malignant melanoma to detach them, however since they appear wrongly in the healthy skin, they detach its own melanocytes, that exfoliate in the epidermis silently, causing white patches. There is no involvement of the immune system.
Regards.
PS:
-Doctors don't know much about this disease.
-The paradigm that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease has been broken by Dr. Matteo Bordignon (www.researchforvitiligo.com).
Remember that vitiligo doesn't cause any inflammation. But the inflammation may cause vitiligo.
Gluten-free is great. If possible, try dairy-free too.
In the meantime focus in reducing oxidative stress (R-ALA+L-Methionine+L-Glutamine+Vit.E), avoid physical traumas (specially friction) and take Zinc, Complex B, Probiotics and Fish Oil.
I forgot to mention beta carotene and vitamin D3.