Q: Please advise me, which treatment is safe and effective for my 3.5 years old son. My son has vitiligo since a couple of months with a 3 inches mark on the cheek. I consulted a paediatrician who confirmed it as vitiligo and started treatment with some solution and advised to apply it in the sunlight and wash it after 2 minutes and also gave Zincovit syrup. Now the size of the mark has reduced to 1 inch. I am very tense and want a permanent cure.

A:Vitiligo can occur at any age and in anybody. It is not an infection, which can be communicated to anybody else. It is neither due to not eating good food or drinking milk after eating fish. It does not affect the health of the patient. It is a cosmetic problem, which can produce psychological problems. Therefore an effort is made to treat it. The white patch is normal in all respects except that it has no colour. It may spread rapidly in some while very slowly in others. Once it stops spreading, it may remain inactive indefinitely or activate again after a variable period of time. Various medicines are used in different combinations for its treatment. Psoralens are the mainstay of treatment, but should not be used before the age of 9 years. Steroids can be used in very rapidly spreading cases but must be used with caution and under supervision, after carefully weighing the benefits and disadvantages. Response is variable. It is likely to be unsatisfactory in patches over the lips, palms, soles, over bony areas, and in those without hair or those, which have white hair.