Ayurvedic Treatment for Vitiligo: Types, Remedies, Causes

Types of Vitiligo

Both Ayurvedic and conventional treatments go by the school of thought that the type of vitiligo provides a driving force to shape the treatment plan. The common types of vitiligo include:

• Generalized Vitiligo: This is the most common form, giving rise to the development of widespread white patches on the skin.
• Segmental Vitiligo: This affects one side of the body and usually progresses for a few years before it remains constant.
• Focal Vitiligo: Have a small, limited area that isn't likely to spread throughout the body.
• Acrofacial Vitiligo: It primarily affects the face, hands, and feet.

Ayurveda teaches that each type, although similar can be approached differently based on the individual’s unique doshas constitution and particular symptom.

Symptoms of Vitiligo

While the primary symptom of vitiligo is the presence of white patches on the skin, several other signs accompany the condition:

• Change in skin color in a patchy distribution starting with synovial zones of the body.
• The process of early bleaching of hair on the head, eyelashes, eyebrows, or beard.
• Iris discoloration or alteration of the shade of the retina.
• In some instances, it should also be accompanied by a loss of color inside the mouth or around the nostrils.

These symptoms can therefore be identified early to ensure appropriate interventions are made to correct the doshas so as to reduce the worsening of vitiligo.

Causes of Vitiligo According to Ayurveda

These symptoms can therefore be identified early to ensure appropriate interventions are made to correct the doshas so as to reduce the worsening of vitiligo.

• Pitta Imbalance: Overaccumulation of Pitta dosha disturbs the blood and skin tissues of the skin and upsets skin pigment production.
• Improper Diet: Eating foods that are considered Viruddha Ahara harms the digestive and metabolic process resulting in toxin production.
• Weak Digestive Fire (Agni): Digestive problems mean side effects like Ama clogging the skin, which affects its condition since it is in the blood stream.
• Mental Stress: Stress or improper emotional condition affects the physical harmony of the body and increases doshas and vitiligo.
• Genetic Factors: In Ayurveda consideration of family antecedent is also determined as one of the key reasons for doshic dysregulation and propensity to diseases such as vitiligo.

Balance Doshas

The initial approach to Ayurveda management of vitiligo is the regulation of the doshas, especially the Pitta dosha. Therapies are initially prescribed based on the patient’s prakriti and subsequently aimed at reducing the doshas that have become deranged.

Panchakarma

Panchakarma, the Ayurvedic detoxification and purification process, plays a significant role in treating vitiligo:

• Virechana (Purgation Therapy): The flexibility of this therapy also has the effect of bathing the liver and detoxifying the body, decreasing Pitta.
• Basti (Enema Therapy): Basti Therapy helps in cleansing the colon to keep off toxins thus reducing Vata, it also enhances the absorption of nutrients in the colon leading to healthy skin.
• Raktamokshana (Bloodletting): This specific therapy is intended to assist in blood purification, which improves skin and rejuvenation processes of pigment cells.

Panchakarma therapies are such as, therapies are suggested even by many Clinics like, Adivaidyam in Bangalore to benefit from these with effective techniques.

Read More: Virechana Treatment in Ayurveda

Herbal Remedies

Ayurvedic treatments often include herbal remedies known for their skin-healing and pigmentation-restoring properties:

• Bakuchi (Psoralea corylifolia): This is known to enhance melanin synthesis and is thus used in skin pigmentation to bring back color.
• Manjistha (Rubia cordifolia): An anti-skin bleed that aids in depigmentation and inflammation.
• Neem (Azadirachta indica): Aids in skin health: Purifies the blood and balances Pitta.
• Haridra (Turmeric): It has anti-inflammatory properties that also can be used to ward off infection.

The ingestion of these herbs daily or the use of their preparations in food preparations under the supervision of an Ayurvedic doctor will gradually improved skin condition.

Dietary Guidelines

Diet plays a pivotal role in Ayurveda, especially for skin conditions like vitiligo:

• Avoid Sour and Acidic Foods: These add to Pitta and can become worse vitiligo.
• Incorporate Pitta-Pacifying Foods: Food such as the green leaves, the cumber and the sweet fruits should be included in the diet.
• Eat Fresh, Cooked Foods: Cooked foods are easily digested in relation to Ama (toxins), hence should be warm.
• Avoid Incompatible Foods: Liquids should not be taken together with solid foods, especially thin liquids such as milk cannot be taken with fish or fruits as they interfere with the digestion process.

Lifestyle Modifications

Lifestyle changes are integral to Ayurvedic treatment for vitiligo:

• Avoid Stress: Exercise in order to keep up mental stability or do other relaxation routines.
• Follow a Routine: There is a need to have some structure in the daily routine to include the timing to be awake, to eat, and to do exercises.
• Avoid Excessive Sun Exposure: Sun protection can help further damage or pigment loss to the skin.

Yoga & Meditation

Yoga and meditation should also highly be considered because they can also reduce stress, balance the doshas, and improve the body. Beneficial yoga poses include:

• Pranayama (Breathing Exercises): Pranayama relieves mental tension and therefore cools the mind and balances Pitta.
• Asanas for Pitta Balance: Yoga practice for Shavasana (Corpse Pose) and Suitali Pranayama will help to bring the heat down and pacify Pitta.
• Meditation: Essential in the handling of mental stress which has a close relation to the worsening of vitiligo.