As long as vitiligo is mentioned, many people will talk about “tiger “ discoloration, pale in shock. In the dermatology clinic, you will meet some pessimistic parents, and even think that having vitiligo is an incurable disease, and your mentality immediately collapses or even loses control of your emotions. So, what is vitiligo? Vitiligo is a common depigmented skin disease with an incidence of about 0.5% to 2.0%, and about 1/3 to 1/2 of patients develop in childhood. Its etiology is not clear, it may be the reduction of skin melanocytes and melanin caused by immunity, stress response or various other factors, thereby causing leukoplakia in the skin and mucous membranes. It tends to have clear boundaries. About 60% of the lesions are located on the face, which seriously affects the patient’s appearance, causes serious trouble to the patient and the patient’s family, brings great psychological pressure to the patient’s daily life and social interaction, and even causes depression in severe cases. . In fact, vitiligo often only affects the appearance of children, and generally has no effect on physical health and intellectual development, and many children with vitiligo can achieve satisfactory results as long as they are treated in a timely, effective and regular manner.
There are many current treatment methods for children’s vitiligo, including topical medication, systemic medication, phototherapy, autologous epidermal transplantation and covering therapy. Clinically, an experienced doctor will formulate an appropriate treatment plan according to the child’s age, course of disease, site of disease, type, stage, and severity of vitiligo. But generally speaking, the effect of comprehensive treatment, such as topical drugs combined with phototherapy, is relatively more ideal.
308nm excimer laser is a safe and fast , An effective phototherapy method provides a new treatment option for the majority of children with vitiligo, and is also one of the most effective methods for the treatment of vitiligo currently internationally recognized. Compared with the traditional phototherapy method, it has the following better characteristics: First, the curative effect is remarkable, and it generally needs 1-2 times a week, regular treatment, and most children can have local recoloration after 3-6 treatments. . Second, it is fast, and each treatment time is short, generally only 2-3 minutes each time, which greatly saves the patient’s time. The third is convenience. Compared with traditional phototherapy, there is no need for any psoralen and photosensitive drug adjuvant therapy. Fourth, it is safe, with very few side effects and only a slight feeling of heat during treatment, which can be safely used in the treatment of children.
The Dermatology Department of our hospital introduced 308nm excimer phototherapy machine in 2018, and has treated about 3,000 children with vitiligo, all of which have achieved good results. The 308nm excimer phototherapy machine can not only treat vitiligo, but also treat psoriasis, dermatitis and vitiligo clinically.
Finally, parents in advance, any vitiligo treatment method is not a one-off treatment and requires a long course of treatment, so parents’ patience is required. At the same time, it also requires the active cooperation of parents to avoid some possible aggravating factors, such as exposure to the sun, trauma, exposure to toxic chemicals, irregular diet, partial eclipse, long-term mental stress and so on.
Editor: Li Yawen