Dermatology and Cosmetic Medicine

Leprosy and Vitiligo

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a long term skin condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment. The patches of skin affected become white and usually have sharp margins in which hair from the skin of mouth and nose may also become white. Most often the patches begin on areas of skin that are exposed to the sun and are more noticeable in people with dark skin. Vitiligo may result in psychological stress. There is no known cure for vitiligo and for those with light skin sunscreen and makeup are typically recommended. Other treatment options may include steroid creams or phototherapy to darken the light patches.

Leprosy

Leprosy which is also known as Hansen’s disease is a long-term infection by the bacteria. At the beginning stage infections occur without any symptoms and these typically remain for 5 to 20 years. Leprosy is a contagious disease which spreads between people through a cough or contact with fluid from the nose of an infected person. Leprosy could be detected by acid-fast bacilli in a skin biopsy or by detecting the DNA which is curable with a treatment known as multidrug therapy. Although the number of new leprosy cases occurring each year is important as a measure of transmission, it is difficult to measure due to leprosy's long incubation period, delays in diagnosis after once the disease is attacked, and the lack of laboratory tools to detect it in the very early stages. Multidrug therapy (MDT) remains highly effective and people could not be infected after the first monthly dose.