The Best Vitiligo Hospital To Treat Vitiligo in UK

Vitiligo is a common, non-catching skin condition which causes a loss of pigmentation in patches of the skin. It affects around 1% of the population andcan develop at any age, often causing distress to sufferers because of its unusual appearance. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning.The extent and rate of colour loss is unpredictable, and it can occur on any part of the body. Sometimes it also affects the eyes, hair and the inside of the mouth.

Beijing Zhongke Vitiligo Hospital was established strictly following the WHO’s diagnostic and treatment criteria and is specialized in diagnosis and treatment of vitiligo. We are located in Beijing, Capital of China, helping patients all over China, popular among patients at home and abroad, so we are an international modern specialized Vitiligo hospital integrating prevention, health care, rehab as well as scientific & research. Holding the international cutting-edge concept of vitiligo treatment and strictly following the diagnostic and treatment criteria, we set up complete scientific, reasonable diagnostic & treatment standard system, which provide precise diagnostic basis for the clinical practices and efficient treatment guarantee. According to different patients’ different causes, we classify the diagnosis through high-technical tests and give them individualized treatments so as to improve success rate of relapse vitiligo. After more than ten years’ practices, we gained patient’s trust at home and abroad.
Treatments available:
No drug can stop the process of vitiligo — the loss of pigment cells (melanocytes). But some drugs, used alone or with light therapy, can help improve your skin's appearance.
Light therapy. This treatment uses narrow band UVB light. You may receive treatment in a doctor's office up to three times a week. And unlike photochemotherapy, it doesn't require psoralen, which simplifies the process. The best results are achieved on the face, trunk and limbs.
Laser therapy. This procedure brings color back to patches of light skin by treating them with an excimer laser, which uses a specific wavelength of UVB light. It can be used only on small areas, and it's often used in combination with a drug applied to the skin. Side effects can include redness and blistering.
Removing the remaining color (depigmentation). This therapy may be an option if your vitiligo is widespread and other treatments haven't worked. A medication with monobenzone is applied to unaffected areas of skin. This gradually lightens it so that it blends with the discolored areas. The therapy is done twice a day for nine months or longer. You'll need to avoid skin-to-skin contact with other people for at least two hours after you've applied the drug, so you don't transfer it to them.
Side effects can include redness, swelling, itching and dry skin. Depigmentation is permanent, and you'll always be extremely sensitive to sunlight.
Surgery may be an option for you if light therapy and drugs don't work. Surgery can also be used with those therapies. The goal of the following techniques is to even out your skin tone by restoring color.

Skin grafting. In this procedure, your doctor removes very small sections of your normal, pigmented skin and attaches them to areas that have lost pigment. This procedure is sometimes used if you have small patches of vitiligo. Possible risks include infection, scarring, a cobblestone appearance, spotty color and failure of the area to recolor.

What is the BEST treatment for vitiligo?

Combination treatments work best. At the Vitiligo Specialist Hospital we believe in best management of vitiligo based upon the very latest scientific research and protocols.

Our treatment regimes consists of –Ways to re-colour your skin, and stimulate your pigment cells to produce melanin. We use a combination of anti-inflammatory chinese medicine, and phototherapy.
Ways to treat your white patches. We will colour match your skin with special UM-D
We will recommend sun protection as this is vitally important in vitiligo patients

We will council and support you thru the whole process of re-pigmentation
Learn more about Chinese Herbs Treatment for Vitiligo

Vitiligo diet:Foods to eat and avoid

Vitiligo is caused by a lack of skin pigmentation known as melanin, For some the condition is hereditary. Most commonly seen on the neck, hands and face because they tend to be the most exposed to the sun which can accelerate the process. The actual underlying cause, though, is due to the lack of Melanin in your skin. Melanin is produced by melanocytes, and if your body has an insufficient amount of these it will stop producing the required amount of melanin.

Some key points to a vitiligo diet include, boosting the immune system with foods rich in phytochemicals, beta carotene, and antioxidants to slow down disease progression; avoiding foods that contain hydroquinones, which have depigmentation properties; avoiding citrus fruits and turmeric as they can result in additional skin problems; and avoiding red meat and dairy, especially if you have an allergy, as they can negatively impact your vitiligo.

There may not be enough scientific evidence to prove how these foods worsen leucoderma (vitiligo) but our clinical experience has shown that many patients report worsening of their vitiligofrom these items and hence they are better avoided.

Surgical Therapies for Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder that causes areas of skin to lose colour. It presents as depigmented (white) patches. Exposed body sites, such as the face, elbows, knees, hands and feet, are often involved, resulting in significant cosmetic concerns. Vitiligo is usually treated with creams and tablets, or by phototherapy. Vitiligo may fail to improve or clear with these treatments.

Surgical therapies can be used for areas of stable vitiligo. There are a variety of grafting and transplant procedures used. Small grafts of skin can be removed from normal skin that is in an unseen area and grafted onto areas with vitiligo. Light is often used to stimulate the pigment to spread beyond the grafted area. Some regions, like India, are using small samples of normal skin and culturing either melanocytes or a combination of melanocytes and keratinocytes that are then spread over the areas of vitiligo that have been abrased to allow the cells to penetrate. The area is covered with a dressing for some period of time. Surgical therapies can often be used with success on segmental vitiligo, as the vitiligo is usually stable after the initial spread. Due to the risk of the skin trauma activating the vitiligo, surgical therapies are rarely performed unless the patient has been stable for at least a year. Side effects of these surgical therapies can be spreading in the area where the graft/sample is taken, a cobblestone or patchwork effect, or scarring.
Surgical therapies include grafts and transplants:
Mini-punch grafting takes small full-thickness grafts and places them in the depigmented area, with topical PUVA used to stimulate pigmentation. The main downside is a cobblestone effect.
Thin split-thickness grafts take a thinner slice but are similar to the mini-punch grafting. They require general anesthesia and are often successful for the lips/hands. Scarring may occur in both donor and grafted areas.
Suction blister grafting separates the epidermis from the dermis with a suction device that causes blisters. The epidermis is then placed on an abraded vitiligo area. Areas between the grafts may remain hypopigmented, but scarring is usually minimal.

Transplant therapies include transplantation of pure melanocytes or melanocytes and keratinocytes together. In either technique the area with vitiligo that is to receive the transplant is roughed up or abraded, sometimes with a laser, then a dressing with the melanocyte mixture is placed on the site and covered until the area heals. Some form of light is often used to help stimulate the pigment to spread out.
Learn more vitiligo causes,symptoms and treatment

Early Signs (symptoms) of Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a skin condition in which the skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and eyes. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin. And the truth is, there is no known cure for this disease. All that can be done is try and control its symptoms, the white patches. It is not a communicable disease.

Any part of the body may be affected by Vitiligo, depigmentation usually develops first on sun exposed areas of the skin, such as hands, feet, arms, face and lips. Genitals also may be affected. It can start to appear at any age, Vitiligo usually first appears between the ages of 10 and 30. Vitiligo generally appears in one of three patterns – Generalized. In this most frequent subtype, pigment loss is extensive across many parts of the body, often evenly.

Segmental loss of skin color happens on only one side of the body. This is more inclined to happen at a younger age, progress for a year or two, and then stop.
Focal depigmentation is limited to one or a few areas of the body.
The areas most commonly affected by vitiligo include:
the skin around your mouth and eyes
fingers and wrists
armpits
groin
genitals
inside your mouth
It can also sometimes develop where there are hair roots, such as on your scalp. The lack of melanin in your skin can turn the hair in the affected area white or grey.
Vitiligo often starts as a pale patch of skin that gradually turns completely white. The centre of a patch may be white, with pale skin around it. If there are blood vessels under the skin, the patch may be slightly pink, rather than white.

The edges of the patch may be smooth or irregular. They're sometimes red and inflamed, or there's brownish discolouration (hyperpigmentation).
Learn about : how to cure vitiligo