Outdoor Protection

Vitiligo sufferers often say to us that they love fresh air and work out of doors. Do they need to take any special precautions to protect their skin?

Most patches of vitiligo skin have no natural protection against the sun’s rays. This is because vitiligo skin is white due to an absence of active melanocytes, the cells which produce melanin (skin pigment). The effect of the sun is normally to increase melanin production which tans the skin; this is a protective mechanism to prevent the skin from being damaged by burning.

Therefore, the most important reason for protecting your skin is to prevent sunburn, which is painful, and damage to the skin, including sunburn, can stimulate the vitiligo to spread in some people. Excessive sun exposure can also produce wrinkles and other damage.

As vitiligo skin is particularly vulnerable to sunburn, some brands of sunblock classified by the NHS (The British National Health Service) as borderline substances are available on prescription from your doctor.  Make sure he prescribes one with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 20 or over and with both UVA and UVB filters.  The same applies if you need to buy one from a chemist but there is little evidence that a SPF of over 30 provides any additional benefit.

Applying a sunscreen is not the only way to protect your skin from sunburn and it may be unwise to rely too heavily on sunblock alone.  Wearing a wide brimmed hat, sunglasses and sun protective clothing and keeping in the shade as far as possible during the heat of the day (11am to 3pm) are of equal importance.  It is also important to remember to reapply the sunblock after swimming or exercise which makes you sweat.  Some sun exposure during the cooler part of the day and for brief periods in temperate zones is generally of benefit.

It may mean that sunbathing on a beach is no longer the best way to spend your holidays but having vitiligo should in no way prevent you from taking outdoor holidays in warmer climes.