Mr. P. R. I. an eighteen years old boy (Patient Identification Number: 22871) residing in Japan sought online treatment from LifeForce on 3rd December 2014 for his vitiligo. He had noticed his first spot of vitiligo a year earlier in October 2013. In 2013, when the problem began, he had a very thin and five cm long white spot on his left foot, for which he had undergone laser treatment. Later on, he developed white spots on his hands, wrists and later shins, elbows and knees. All his spots were small and scattered, the largest one being about a centimeter long. The rest of the spots were either small dots or lesser than five millimeters. He tended to show the Koebner’s phenomenon, i.e. developing a white spot on areas where there has been a skin injury. He had been applying two different ointments - one containing an active derivative of Vitamin D3 and the other containing carpronium chloride. He had also been taking laser treatment for the spots. 

He was a non vegetarian and had a good appetite. He disliked fish, sweets and eggs and liked milk, meat, fruits and rice. He had an average perspiration and thirst for water. He was more tolerant to cold.

He was a student of the twelfth grade in an international school in Japan. He was a boy of Indian origin but had moved to Sweden with his parents when he was three years old. After that he had moved to China and then Japan as his father’s work assignments changed. He loved this experience and felt lucky to have the exposure. He had learnt Swedish and Chinese, so adjusting had never been a problem. He found it easy to connect with his friends as they all had been in a similar situation as him. In Japan, he was the captain of his tennis varsity team. He had good relations with his family members, was close to both his parents and shared everything with them. 

He did not suffer from any serious ailments in the past. 

His maternal grandfather had diabetes while maternal grandmother had asthma. 

He was a confident and happy boy. He had been handling his vitiligo well, but wanted to be supportive of his mother who wanted to ensure the halt of disease progress. He played the guitar when he was upset and would get over things after his parents joked about it or made him laugh. 

Dr Shah studied his case in detail and prescribed the homeopathic remedy Hydrocotyle Asiatica 30c in addition to his research based medicines for vitiligo. 

Three months later, on 8th March 2015, his mother gave his feedback. She mentioned that they were happy to have started the medicines. Since the medicines started, some spots had re-pigmented and the others had decreased in size. He had hurt himself during soccer and noticed a scar on his right knee. A slight mark had been noticed and they were keeping a watch whether it would turn into a vitiligo spot. Overall, they had noticed a fifty percent improvement in his vitiligo.

Another three months later, on 9th July 2015, he visited Dr Shah in person when he came to India for his summer break. The vitiligo on his hands, palms, knees and shins were better by seventy five percent. There was significant re-pigmentation and the old spots had also faded. An examination under the wood’s Lamp was done to check if there were any new upcoming spots. This examination revealed that there were no new spots to be expected.

He still continues to take treatment and continues to do well. 

This case highlights the Koebner’s phenomenon, which is a common feature in many vitiligo patients. This phenomenon is also seen in other skin conditions like psoriasis, warts, molluscum. Wherever there are areas of injury, new lesions tend to develop. Hence patients suffering from vitiligo should be careful about this. Having said this, one should not be overly cautious or prohibit one’s child from participating in sports. Gradually with homeopathic treatment, the tendency for new spots can be taken care of.

Uploaded by Dr A. S. on 8/9/2015