29-year-old female with bilaterally symmetrical vitiligo on legs, ankles and knees, improved

Miss R.T (L-6167) a 29-year-old female patient reported to us with complaints of bilaterally symmetrical moderate-sized spots of Vitiligo present on her legs, ankles, and knees since two and a half years. The patient was treated with local steroids with no change in the size of the spots. These spots were neither spreading nor increasing in size. All her complaints of vitiligo had aggravated after her father’s death.

Along with her skin complaints, she also suffered from painful defecation due to hard stools. She would occasionally complain of bleeding with stools (in the form of streaks). All her bowel symptoms were aggravated before menses.

She had also suffered from acne and hyperpigmented patches on her face for one year. She also had complaints of dryness of the skin especially at angles of the mouth and infra-orbital region.

Her appetite was normal and she used to crave for sour food and fish. She had profuse perspiration, which was generalized. She had complaints of chest pain before menses. She had very disturbed sleeping patterns.

She had marked anxiety about her illness. She also had delusions that she was developing new spots. This primarily caused sleeplessness. She felt relieved whenever she was occupied with her work. So she tried to keep herself busy as much as possible. She had prolonged depression, which was caused due to the grief of her father’s death, the stress of her mother’s illness and her elder brother’s separation from the family. She faced constant fear that she may develop spots all over the body. She had a tendency to brood over things for a long time. She tried to avoid the unpleasant thoughts but they kept coming back to her mind. Due to this, she felt helpless, as she was not able to share her problems with her mother due to her illness. She was very reserved. She used to get angry when things around her were not going right or were uncontrollable. All her ailments were aggravated by suppressed anger.

There was no history of any major illness that she had suffered from in the past. Her father had suffered from myocardial infarction. Her mother had suffered from diabetes mellitus, Ischemic Heart Disease, and hypertension. Her maternal grandmother was diabetic. Her paternal uncle’s son had widespread vitiligo.

Based on her detailed case history, she was prescribed Natrum Mur 200 for her complaints. After a month of commencement of treatment, her vitiligo patches on the ankles were better. Her bowel symptoms were relieved to a certain extent. Her acne was also better. After three months, her vitiligo was better by about 30 %. After 6 months, she was started on phototherapy treatment. Her vitiligo improved remarkably with phototherapy up to 50 %.

She is still advised to continue treatment in order to see repigmentation on other parts as well. This case denotes the potential of homeopathic treatment in chronic cases of vitiligo with an overall improvement in the patient without using steroids in the entire course of treatment.