Does Vitiligo Help a Zinc Deficiency?

Vitiligo is a skin condition in which the skin loses melanin, a pigment that gives your skin and eyes color. There is no known cause or cure.

Symptoms

• White patches usually appear in sun-exposed areas of the skin on people suffering from vitiligo. These patches usually appear on the face, hands, feet and arms of the body.

Deficiencies

• According to the National Vitiligo Foundation, people with vitiligo are usually deficient in zinc, copper, folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin C. The researcher, V.G. Kolyandinko from National Medical University in Kiev, Ukrane, found that vitiligo patients had reduced amounts of zinc and copper in their skin.

Experimental Treatments

• Researcher Kolyandinko applied copper and zinc topically to the skin of 12 vitiligo patients. After using ultraviolet light exposure, he found that the regimen produced a normalization of the skin pigmentation.