Classical homeopathy—where individualized remedies are prescribed—has been successfully used on 14 vitiligo sufferers, say researchers at the Centre for Classical Homeopathy in Bangalore, India.
The remedies reduced the white patches on the skin, a hallmark of vitiligo, in all 14 patients within an average of five years after starting treatment. The patients, 13 women and one man with an average age of 29, had had the disease for around eight years before trying homeopathy, and the researchers reckon that homeopathy could be especially effective in the early stages of the disease.
With classical homeopathy, the remedy will vary and is determined by the characteristics of each individual patient, and so the researchers were unable to point to any one remedy that could treat the problem.
Vitiligo (leukoderma) is an auto-immune condition that causes the loss of the skin pigment melanin. Conventional medicine treats the condition with light therapy and drugs, which can restore some pigmentation to the skin, but doesn't treat the underlying condition.