Historical Status and Myths about Vitiligo
History of Vitiligo is found way back to even Buddhist literature [624-544BC] which quotes it as “Kilasa”and says, people suffering from it were not eligible for ordainment. Its social implication is also mentioned in Rigveda saying people suffering from Switra[Vitiligo] and their progenies are disqualified to marry. Literature from around the world have mentioned its occurrence and the difficulty to treat it. There had been a misleading association of it with being contagious too. But, in the modern era of medicine and technology, the disease has been dealt with an altogether different approach and thats why today we are able to get the results which might be unbelievable for the past.
Still, being such an old disease, there are so many myths associated with Vitiligo, which must be addressed logically.
Food and drinks– Many believe that Vitiligo can be aggravated by milk or any white food, or sour foods commonly known as Khatai, or fish with milk and many weird combinations. The reality is, we have not found any such proven thing.
Disabilities- Vitiligo is purely a disease of the skin and does not influence the physical and mental abilities.
Contagious-It was thought to be so. But the reality is that Vitiligo cannot be transmitted through touch, sharing personal items, saliva or intercourse.
Incurable- As our old literatures have mentioned it to be incurable, people strongly believe so.
But in the modern times, Vitiligo can be treated very well, with the use of modern therapies and innovations, and thousands of patients have shown great recovery.