Bulletin (Page-1)

Ayurvedic Management of Vitiligo-Leukoderma (Shwitra)

Dr.Aashish Phadke

"Doctor, we have been told by many people , that Ayurved can really make difference in Skin problems , isn't it ?", posed question by Mrs.Nair." Yes, but let me know what kind of skin disease patient is having? Is it a dermatitis , eczema or Psoriasis ….?""No doctor ,my little daughter Renu, she has been diagnosed to be ,….." Mrs. Nair started weeping !
I said what happen, please control yourself Mrs.Nair, Please tell me what happen to Renu & where is she right now ?" "Doctor , she is having Leukoderma, Doctor she is having White patches on her limbs, trunk, abdomen & little even on her face ! We have tried everything Doc, we went first for Allopathy ,then when there was not much of the difference then we have tried homeopathy , naturopathy & even Ayurvedic also doc, but there is not much of the relief ! Doctor someone was saying that this is incurable, then what will happen to my Renu ! Doc who will marry her!! I heard you have treated some cases of leukoderma successfully so we have come to you with great hopes! Doctor please cure her disease."

I called up Renu inside my chamber who was sitting outside in the waiting room. Renu was a cute smart looking girl from ninth standard .When I asked her & her mother about the manifestation of disease , about the causative aspect of disease , I was surprised to know that they were having full of information , but most of it was wrong things, myths.
After explaining everything we have started with the therapy. I am very happy to say that after a couple of weeks therapy there was a complete regression of the patches & the happiness I could see on the face of Renu & her mom was definitely much more than any other things!
What is Leucoderma? What are the causes for it?
Now let us see what exactly we mean by Leukoderma ? disease Leukoderma or Vitiligo means Whiote patches on the skin , are just cosmetic problem. Leukos means white , derma means skin , so white skin means Leukoderma. When there is any history of burns, or cuts & wounds, while healing some cases see a manifestation of such white patches on the skin , said to have Leukoderma. Whereas in other cases there exists such patches on the skin without having any obvious cause are termed to be Vitiligo .Basically medically speaking, if you see the reason, the melanin pigments which gives colour to our skin , gets reduced or gets inactivated in this region so we see white patch on the skin.
Is it possible to treat Leukoderma ?
Leukodermado have have treatment by psoralin compounds ( again a drug developed from an Ayurvedic herb Bakuchi) & PUVA Therapy. Also plastic surgery (normal skin transplantation technique at white patch lesion ) is advocated in certain cases. Cases having white patches on the surface of lips, mucous membranes, lids, hair, soles & palms are bit difficult to treat.
Steps involved in Ayurvedic management (in brief) :-
As per Ayurved this problem is termed as Shwitra .The term came from word shweta meaning white. In Ayurved we believe there is a great role of diet in the causative factor of this disease & also in the treatment of this problem. In Ayurveda it has been said that certain food articles are never to be mixed while eating.That can causes harmful effect to your body , thus said to be Viruddhahar .Viruddha meaning opposite Aahar means diet. Incompatibility of food in modern terms! For instance Fish & milk, Milk & sour articles, Milk & banana - Shikaran ,Karela & curd, Honey & ghee in equal proportion, honey & hot water or any hot liquid & the list goes quite long…..! That can bring about imbalance in your Tridosha, especially Pitta would disturb & can create problem with ones 'Rakta' creating 'Raktadooshti' creating various skin disorders , one of which is 'Shwitra' or 'Leukoderma'

In modern medicine they do not give this aspect of diet regulation in the management of 'Leukoderma'.But in Ayurveda along with medication patient had to undergo strict diet restriction. Here one thing we always advocate that is low salt diet. White patches slowly starts disappearing. Sometimes we need to use certain Panchakarmas like Raktamokshanam ( Blood letting ) etc.

Very important thing patient should know that by taking stress or tension of this disease he or she is in fact helping to increase the disease because stress can leads to increase of vitiated Vata, thus distrurbing Brajaka Pitta & bringing about the disease process even in a greater way !
Commonly used medicines in Leukoderma :
In medication we do have lots of combinations to use with common preparations like Khadir Kalpa, Manjishta , Avagulja, Bakuchi etc. if used under a specialized supervised way under the guidance of a well qualified Ayurved Consultant , then one can see a great difference in the disease status. There are several Ayurvedic medicines advocated for the treatment of Shwitra,some of the commonly used are Bakuchi beej, Bakuchi tail, Vardhaman Bakuchi Rasdayana, Kaishr guggulu, Mahamanjishthadi Kashayam, Khadirarishtam etc as internal therapy with specific pathyam as discussed before & .Avaguljadi lepam or combination of herbs with Bakuchi as an external therpy. But one must remember all these medicines are to be taken under supervision of an Ayurvedic consultant & not otherwise as a self medication.
Myths associated with Leucoderma
One need to know that this is not a contagious disease, neither a hereditary disorder. Although a familial trend is observed with some cases. Certain consultants do say that all white food items are to be omitted viz. No Sugar, No Rice, No Milk, No Curd, No Buttermilk, No Salt etc. I think it's a sheer myth ! No where Ayurveda advocate such 'Pathya'. Some feels it's a manifestation of cines of past life ( due to Poorvajanma papa ) !! I always tell to all my patients to think ALWAYS POSITIVE , take medicines regularly & get rid of this problem.
Yes, many such cases have completely came out this social stigma , social disease ! They are once again happy ! Like our Renu also completed the therapy & free of all white patches.