How Is Vitiligo Treated?

Treatment may help make the skin look better. The choice of treatment depends on:

• The number of white patches
• How widespread the patches are
• The treatment the person prefers to use.

Some treatments are not right for everyone. Many treatments can have unwanted side effects. Treatments can take a long time, and sometimes they don't work.

Current treatment options for vitiligo include medical, surgical, and other treatments. Most treatments are aimed at restoring color to the white patches of skin.

Medical treatments include:

• Medicines (such as steroid creams) that you put on the skin
• Medicines that you take by mouth
• A treatment that uses medicine plus ultraviolet A (UVA) light (PUVA)
• Removing the color from other areas so they match the white patches.

Surgical treatments include:

• Skin grafts from a person's own tissues. The doctor takes skin from one area of a patient's body and attaches it to another area. This is sometimes used for people with small patches of vitiligo.
• Tattooing small areas of skin.

Other treatments include:

• Sunscreens
• Cosmetics, such as makeup or dye, to cover the white patches
• Counseling and support.