Home Remedies for Leucoderma / Vitiligo

Leucoderma Information

Leucoderma, or white skin, is the name given to a skin disease, wherein there is a gradual loss of the pigment, melanin, from the skin layers, resulting in the appearance of white patches. Though the disease does not cause any organic harm, the patches surely look ugly and upsetting. Known as vitiligo, leucoderma can affect people of any age and sex and can be seen on any kind of skin. Contrary to the popular belief, the disease is neither infectious nor contagious and is not caused due to any germs or bad blood. If you want to know the causes and symptoms of leucoderma, the following lines would come handy.

Causes Of Leucoderma

·         Skin trauma

·         Sunburn

·         Mental worry or stress

·         Heredity factors

·         Physical illness

·         Excessive thinking

·         Chronic gastric problems

·         Improper liver functions

·         Worms/parasites in the digestive system

·         Burns and injuries

·         Impaired hepatic function

·         Pressure from tight clothes

·         Defective perspiratory mechanism

·         Certain occupational hazards

Symptoms Of Leucoderma

·         The whiteness starts as a small discolored white or pale brown spot, which spreads and becomes whiter after a few days, finally turning milky white in color

·         Alopecia or loss of hair

·         Premature graying of hair

·         General weakness

·         Sensitivity towards cold

·         Hair on the affected area also become white

Leucoderma is a condition in which the skin layers experience loss of skin-pigment. Also known as vitiligo, leucoderma causes white patches on the skin surface. It is more common in women than in men and is mostly seen on the hands, neck, back and wrist. The main causes for leucoderma are excessive mental worry and chronic or acute gastric disorders. Other causes involve impaired hepatic function such as jaundice, worms or other parasites in the alimentary canal, typhoid, a defective perspiratory mechanism and burn injuries. It can also be the result of hereditary reasons. However, leucoderma can be treated using certain home remedies, some of which have been mentioned below.

Home Remedies For Leucoderma

·         Take about 25 grams of radish seeds and ground them into a powdery substance. Add 2 tsp vinegar and make a fine paste. Apply this paste on the affected area and wash off when dry.

·         In about eight liters of water, soak 500 gm turmeric. Boil the concoction until only a liter of it is left. Strain this liquid and add ½ liter mustard oil to it. Apply this on the patchy areas two times a day, for at least 2-3 months.

·         Soak psoralea seeds in ginger juice for 3 days. Thereafter, dry them and grind to make a fine powder. Have 1 gram of this powder, with a glass of milk, for about a month. You can also apply this powder on white patches.

·         Another method would be to soak psoralea and tamarind seeds in water for 3-4 days. Dry them well and grind to form a paste. Apply this paste on the affected area on a daily basis.

·         Goosefoot vegetable is effective in treating leucoderma. Apply the juice of this vegetable on the affected area, once a day. Continue it for 2 months.

·         Mix red clay and ginger in equal parts. Apply this on the affected area and wash off when dry.

·         Fill a copper vessel with drinking water and leave it overnight. Have this water, on an empty stomach, every morning. This is effective in healing leucoderma.

·         Combine 100 gm each of alfalfa and cucumber juice. Consume this mixture two times a day i.e. in the morning and evening. This is a useful home remedy for treating leucoderma.

·         Take a handful of dry pomegranate leaves and grind them into a fine powder. Have about 8 grams of this powder every morning and evening, with a glass of water.

·         Neem is very effective in treating leucoderma. Try to drink a glass of neem juice everyday.

·         Grind black gram and add water, to form a paste. Apply this paste on the affected area, washing off after it dries, for about 4 to 5 months. It is an effective remedy for treating leucoderma.

·         Holy basil leaves prove to be beneficial in treating white patches. Consume raw basil leaves or make a decoction out of Holy basil's leaves and stem, along with water.

·         Make a poultice of ginger leaves and apply it on the white patches. It is quite effective in treating leucoderma.

·         Increase the consumption of walnuts and figs. While walnuts purify blood, figs have healing properties to cure leucoderma.

MORE

Leucoderma / Vitiligo

Leucoderma, also known as vitiligo, is a distressing skin condition. The word literally means white skin. There is a gradual loss of the pigment melanin from the skin layers which results in white patches. These patches look ugly, especially in persons with a dark complexion. The condition does not cause any organic harm. This disease is caused neither by any germs, nor is it due to bad blood. It is considered to be neither infectious nor contagious. 

Leucoderma Symptoms

Small white patch appear in the beginning

The problem usually starts with a small white spot which later develops into patches. These patches are pale in the beginning, but become whiter and whiter as time passes by due to loss of pigment. As the spots enlarge, they merge into each other and, in course of time, form a very broad patch. In some cases, most of the skin of the body may be covered with white patches.

Leucoderma Causes

Excessive mental worry, chronic or acute gastric disorders

The main causes of leucoderma are said to be excessive mental worry, chronic or acute gastric disorders, impaired hepatic function such as jaundice, worms or other parasites in the alimentary canal, typhoid, a defective perspiratory mechanism, and burn injuries.

This disease is caused neither by any germs, nor is it due to bad blood. The problem usually starts with a small white spot and later on it develops into patches. These patches are pale in the beginning but become whiter and whiter as time passes due to loss of pigment. As spots enlarge, they merge into each other and, in course of time, form a very broad patch. Leucoderma does not differentiate between races, religions or even socio-economic groups. Females are more commonly affected than males. The main causes of leucoderma are said to be excessive mental worry, chronic or acute gastric disorders, impaired hepatic function such as jaundice, worms or other parasites in the alimentary canal, typhoid, a defective perspiratory mechanism, and burn injuries. Heredity is also a causative factor and about 30 per cent of patients have a family history of the disorder. Treatment of vitiligo usually takes a long time. Medical treatment helps arrest the spread of depigmentation and in some cases, may bring back the pigmentation. The most commonly affected areas are face, neck, back, wrist, hand, groin, genitals, armpits, etc.

Heredity

Heredity is also a well-recognized causative factor.

 

Home remedies for Leucoderma

Leucoderma treatment using Psoralea

The best-know home remedy for leucoderma is the use of seeds of psoralea (babchi). These seeds should be steeped in the juice of ginger for three days. The fluid should be renewed every day. The seeds should then be rubbed with the hands to remove the husks, dried in the shade and powdered. One gram of this powder should be taken every day with one cup of fresh milk for forty days continuously. The ground seeds should also be applied to the white spots. Babchi seeds, combined with tamarind (imli) seeds. are also useful. An equal quantity of both the seeds should be steeped in water for three to four days. They should then be shelled and dried in the shade. They should be ground into paste and applied to the white patches for a week. If the application of this paste causes itching, or the white spots become red and a fluid begins to ooze out, this treatment should be discontinued.

Leucoderma treatment using Red Clay

Another useful remedy for leucoderma is red clay found by the river side or on hill slopes. The clay should be mixed in ginger juice in a ratio of 1:1, and applied over the white spots once a day. The copper contained in the clay seems to bring back skin pigmentation. Ginger juice also serves as a mild stimulant, facilitating increased blood flow to the spots. Drinking water kept overnight in a copper vessel will also help.

Leucoderma treatment using Radish

A paste made from the seeds of the radish is valuable in treating leucoderma. About thirty-five grams of these seeds should be powdered in two teaspoons of vinegar and applied on the white patches.

Leucoderma treatment using Goose Foot

The use of goose foot is beneficial in the treatment of this disease. This vegetable should be taken twice daily, in the morning as well as in the evening, for two months continuously. Simultaneously, the juice of the leaves should be applied over the patches of leucoderma.

Leucoderma treatment using Turmeric

Turmeric mixed with mustard oil has also proved useful in leucoderma. About 500 gm of turmeric should be pounded and soaked in 8 litres of water at night. It should be boiled in the morning till only one litre of water is left, and then be strained and mixed with 500 ml of mustard oil. This mixture should be heated till only the oil is left. It should then be strained and preserved in a bottle. The mixture should be applied on the white patches every morning and evening for a few months.

Leucoderma diet

Fast of juices followed by restricted diet of fresh fruits

Constitutional measures should be adopted to cleanse the system of accumulated toxins. To begin with, the patient should undertake a fast of juices for about a week. After the juice fast, the patient may adopt a restricted diet consisting of fresh fruits, raw or steamed vegetables, and whole meal bread or chapatis. Curd and milk may be added to this diet after a few days.

Well-balanced diet

The patient may, thereafter, gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet of seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables, and fruits. This diet may be supplemented with cold-pressed vegetable oils, honey, and yeast. Juice fasting may be repeated at intervals of two months or so.

Avoid tea/coffee, polished rice, tinned or bottled foods etc.

The patient should avoid tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, all condiments and highly- flavoured dishes, sugar, white flour products, denatured cereals like polished rice and pearled barley, and tinned or bottled foods.

Other Leucoderma treatments

Lukewarm-water enema to cleanse bowels

During the initial one-week juice fast, the bowels should be cleansed daily with it lukewarm-water enema.

Source:

http://www.iloveindia.com/home-remedies/leucoderma.html

http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Leucoderma.html

http://www.best-home-remedies.com/skin_disorders/leucoderma.htm

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor.