Emotional causes of Vitiligo 🆙

We know that, many times, some psychological and emotional factors can cause physical illness. Who has never heard of nervous gastritis, which is caused by stress?! But what about vitiligo? Are there emotional causes that somatize and aggravate this disease? Let's clear all your doubts now!

What is vitiligo?

First, you need to know that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease characterized by depigmentation of the skin, in which white spots appear for no apparent reason, caused by the attack of an individual's defense system against melanocytes, which are the cells that produce melanin - substance responsible for skin pigmentation. It is common for the hairs present in the affected regions to also turn white and, in addition, there may be some spots with pigmentation in the center of each lesion.

The spots commonly appear on areas of friction, such as the hands and face, but can appear anywhere on the body. Many think that the sensitivity of the affected areas is altered, but this is a myth! The only different sensation that a person may feel at the beginning of the disease is a little itching. But if vitiligo attacks the melanocytes in the eyes and ears, the patient may have inflamed eyes and experience a decrease in their hearing. Attention: this is extremely rare!

Note: approximately 1% of the world population has the disease, and it usually appears in childhood or early adulthood.

Emotional causes of Vitiligo — Copyright : Dzmitry Marhun

Is there a relationship between vitiligo and emotional?

There are rumors that Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, was extremely desperate towards the end of her life and, on the day she was to be guillotined in the middle of a public square, she would have woken up with white spots all over her body. Do you know what it was? Vitiligo!

The fact is that the exact causes of this disease are still unknown, but it is known that the emotional influences a lot in the beginning and even in the worsening of the disease. According to dermatologist Roberto Doglia Azambuja, most patients with vitiligo suffer from stress, anxiety and some have experienced trauma in their lives. The doctor also points out that the most impressive thing about the disease is that it can appear overnight. It is important to emphasize that an emotional “thud” can be linked to vitiligo, but it is not strictly its cause. Stress only stimulates the problem in people who already have a genetic predisposition.

Commonly, when a person has many “stressors”, one of the first organs that signal that something is wrong with the body is the skin. This is because the nervous system and the skin originate in the ectoderm, that is, they have the same embryonic development. And because of this fact they influence each other, which explains the emergence of problems that can be aggravated from some psychosomatic causes such as vitiligo, psoriasis, herpes, etc.

Social impact of vitiligo

The injuries caused by vitiligo can negatively influence a person's self-esteem and, therefore, impact their quality of life. One of the main fears of a patient with the disease is that the spots will spread over the body, after all, many people think that because it is something on the skin and totally visible, it can be contagious and, from that, a certain prejudice ends up being created. But know that vitiligo is not a contagious disease, but an autoimmune one!

As stated earlier, when there is a genetic predisposition, vitiligo can be triggered by emotional issues such as stress or anxiety, as these factors can also aggravate the disease. Therefore, it is extremely important to seek medical help as soon as the spots begin to appear. As much as it is not possible to guarantee a specific result, it is important to treat and, if possible, have the follow-up of a psychologist to prevent psychological issues from further aggravating the injuries.

Is there a way to prevent vitiligo?

As vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that arises from a genetic predisposition, there are no specific ways to prevent it. Taking care of the emotional is something that everyone should do, regardless of triggering diseases or not, because, as we already know, the psychological can greatly influence our physical body. Stress does influence the advancement of the disease, and keeping the emotional up to date is important to prevent the emergence of new spots and also to ensure positive effects during treatment, but understand that there is no cure or prevention for vitiligo.

vitiligo treatment

The most conventional treatments are usually long and commonly involve the use of ointments that contain corticosteroids in their compositions, phototherapy and lotions. It is rare for the lesions to be definitively healed, as there are some areas in which it is more difficult to regain pigmentation. If vitiligo affects more than 50% of a patient's body, total depigmentation of the skin is one of the main treatment options.