How a neurotransmitter in your intestinal tract helps induce pigmentation Most people who have heard of serotonin probably know of it as the brain chemical that regulates mood. And many are aware that a lack of serotonin is linked to depression. What you may not know is that the vast majority […]
Causes & Triggers
64 posts
What are phenols and polyphenols and how do they affect pigment loss? Before you let the title of this post put you off reading any further, let me say that chemistry and biology were two of my least favourite subjects at school (joint second only to mathematics) so it comes […]
What’s your trigger? A lot has been written about the possible causes of vitiligo. Scientific and lay publications on the subject often point in apparently contradictory directions. Some research points to a genetic cause, some to autoimmune involvement, others to oxidative stress, others to trauma… While some suspect digestive disorders […]
This delightful illustration of a human liver is by way of an introduction to this series of posts which I hope will be useful to all those vitiligo detectives out there looking for the underlying cause of their pigment loss. Until very recently I was only vaguely aware that vitiligo […]
Histamine and pigment loss In my last blog post A Vitiligo Mystery, I likened vitiligo to a convoluted whodunnit murder mystery, full of contradictions, plot twists, red herrings and a cast consisting of scores of suspects, one of which is histamine. Like all good whodunnits, the mystery of what causes […]
What our pigment-producing cells do in their spare time I stumbled on an intriguing article the other day when the light-hearted title “What are melanocytes really doing all day long…?” caught my eye. For those of us with an interest in vitiligo, any mention of these pigment-producing cells always attracts our […]
I am ending this particular series of posts about conditions associated with vitiligo by focusing on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The two most common forms of IBD are #Crohn’s Disease and #UlcerativeColitis. In both cases parts of the intestinal tract become sore and inflamed. Whereas Crohn’s Disease can affect any […]
A (pillow) case study Wash before use! If you suffer from any kind of skin complaint, or from allergies of any description, this is wise advice. Especially fabrics that you will be coming into close contact with. Of course, this makes sense from a general hygiene point of view. But also […]
It looks exactly like vitiligo but could have an environmental cause Chemical leukoderma (sometimes called occupational vitiligo) is the loss of areas of skin pigment due to contact with certain chemicals. And anyone can suffer from it, whether they have a history of vitiligo or not. It is not the same […]
Not a disease as such, but a symptom of other issues When, as a child, I was originally diagnosed with this thing called vitiligo it was the 1960s. Back then, doctors knew almost nothing about it. And the general public knew even less. The mysterious white patches on my skin […]
Is digestion a factor? I have often read that stress can trigger vitiligo and used to find this concept rather mystifying. Of course, it stands to reason that stress is likely to weaken the immune system and therefore increase the likelihood of developing a variety of illnesses. But why should […]
Physical trauma is a trigger If you, or a loved one, suffer from vitiligo you will know how traumatic it can be. The psychological trauma of any disfigurement (e.g. a burn, scar or birthmark) can be difficult to deal with, especially if it affects your face. But in this post […]
In considering possible links between vitiligo and other diseases, I didn’t want to leave out lupus. Because some of the medical literature suggests an association between the two conditions. And also for the altogether less scientific reason that Michael Jackson, who famously suffered from vitiligo for a large portion of […]
… and a Vitix update I have two topics to share this week and they are linked, so I thought I’d give you them both in the one post. I’ll begin with a valuable lesson I learned a few weeks ago. It’s one I wasn’t thrilled about at the time […]
Thankfully, there is a lot more vitiligo research going on today than at any time in the past. However, I can’t help thinking that what people with vitiligo need more than anything – especially when they are first diagnosed – is a doctor who is willing to hunt down some […]
It’s complicated! The truth about vitiligo can be summed up very simply… It’s complicated! If it wasn’t complicated, research would have found the cause and a cure by now. The fact that even Michael Jackson’s fortune couldn’t buy him a solution says a lot about how elusive this is. Even his untimely […]
Are you dressed to kill? Ever since I was a teenager I’ve loved shopping for new clothes. I still enjoy the guilty pleasures of carrying my purchases home, emptying them out onto the bed and staging my own private fashion show. Clothes are a great outlet for self-expression and individuality. They […]
I have been aware for a long time that vitiligo is sometimes associated with pernicious anaemia. (Please excuse the British spelling if you are not from the UK). So I finally decided to look at this subject in more detail and pass the information on. I hope you find it […]
Thanks to everyone who flagged up that the image I posted yesterday, entitled The cause of your vitiligo is probably on this chart, was too small to read. The causes of this skin condition are famously complex. So much so, that even a bigger vitiligo flow chart than this still […]
One of my vitiligo contacts sent me this chart and gave me permission to share it (thanks, R.S.). It is the result of a lot of painstaking research on his part and backs up much of the information I have gleaned over the years too. Reading up on the subject […]
For as long as I can remember I have had problems with my digestion. I routinely suffered from tummy aches and cramps as a child. I even had a totally healthy appendix removed for no good reason. (Eventually getting a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.) Even though both my gut […]