How do medications treat vitiligo?

Medications for treating vitiligo include drugs that help to add color or pigment back to the skin. Applying corticosteroid products to the skin is one way to repigment the skin. Topical corticosteroids help restore color to skin within six months in about half of people who use them, either alone or in combination with light therapy.

Another drug called psoralen is also commonly used in combination with light therapy to restore color to depigmented skin, a treatment called PUVA therapy. Psoralen can be taken orally as a pill or applied to the skin. PUVA therapy is about 50 to 75 percent effective in restoring color to the trunk, upper arms, upper legs, and face, but much less effective when used on the hands and feet, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Some people who have lost most of their skin color may opt for depigmenting the rest of their skin. In these cases, doctors may recommend use of topical creams that can remove pigment from skin.

While medications can't cure vitiligo, they are useful in skin treatments that help your skin tone become more uniform. Corticosteroids are used to help skin become pigmented again, and their strength can be varied for children and people who need a lot of corticosteroid medication on their skin. Other medications are generally put in an ointment or cream and applied to your skin before you are exposed to UVA or UVB (ultraviolet) rays. This helps the lighter patches of skin darken, at least temporarily. You can take the medication psoralen by mouth before you receive UVA light therapy. There is a medication called monobenzene ether of hydroquinone that you can apply to your skin. This medication is different from the others because it strips the color from the rest of your skin, as opposed to trying to repigment your skin.