MORE than 100 million people suffer from the skin disease, vitiligo, and while some believe there is no cure, it can be treated.
According to president of the VSSA, Dr Noufal Raboobee, the society was launched in May 2008 at the annual congress of the Dermatological Society of South Africa, to function under the umbrella of the Dermatological Society. The formation of the Vitiligo Society folows a dire need in the community since one to two per cent of the population suffers from Vitiligo.
Yusuf Ismail, chairman of the support group, said Vitiligo is primarily associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, it is a chronic non-life threatening ailment that causes loss of pigmentation resulting in irregular pale patches of skin at different intervals.
“Half of the people with vitiligo develop patches of de-pigmented skin before their 20s. The patches may grow, shrink or remain constant. While the causes of this are not precisely verifiable by science, what is clear is that stress is indeed a primary factor that affects the immune system, leading the body to overreact and start eliminating skin pigmentation,” said Ismail.
He added that one of the main problems affecting patients is psychological.
“In some obscurantist cultures, those thought to have the disease are considered to be afflicted with the evil spirit, need to be ostracised from the community and other such nonsensical beliefs. But, vitiligo is a treatable condition with the recent mapping of the human genome paving the way for advanced genetic research into vitiligo,” said Ismail.
There are several strategies that can assist a person in coping with vitiligo. Talking with other people, having a doctor who is knowledgeable and above all else support groups are there to charter trajectories in dealing with the emotional and social issues and improving one’s self-esteem.
The aims of the Vitiligo Society is to create awareness of Vitiligo by providing information about the disease to patients and doctors which describe current and up-to-date treatments, providing support groups for patients, facilitate research, produce and maintain a website and provides a list of local medical practitioners that offer special services for vitiligo.
The Vitiligo Society of South Africa (VSSA) will host a support group meeting at Westville Hospital, 7 Spine Road , on Saturday 1 February from 2pm to 4pm. The meeting is open to all patients, and any one with an interest in vitiligo. Admission is free.
