Can an over-the-counter ointment cure vitiligo completely?

Hyderabad: An advertisement for an ointment called Kolmax claims that it can cure vitiligo.

No matter how long you have been struggling with vitiligo, the ointment promises to get rid of the condition within 15 to 20 days. People are advised to apply the ointment twice a day.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false.

Mayo Clinic describes vitiligo as “a disease that causes loss of skin color in patches.” It adds, “The discoloured areas usually get bigger with time. The condition can affect the skin on any part of the body. It can also affect hair and the inside of the mouth. Normally, the color of hair and skin is determined by melanin. Vitiligo occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning.”

There are different types of vitiligo:

· Localised vitiligo is when you develop a few spots or patches that appear in one or a few places on your body.

· Generalised vitiligo when vitiligo causes scattered patches of colour loss on different areas of the body.

· Segmental vitiligo is another type of vitiligo. People who have this type tend to see rapid colour loss on one side of the body.

· Non-segmental vitiligo tends to spread slowly with new patches developing off and on throughout a person’s life.

· Mixed type vitiligo is a rare type of vitiligo. People with this type develop both segmental vitiligo and colour loss beyond the area with segmental vitiligo.

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) recently approved a topical ointment named Opzelura (ruxolitinib) for vitiligo. But it should be noted that there are a few specific limitations of the approved ointment.

· FDA has approved Opzelura (ruxolitinib) cream for the treatment of nonsegmental vitiligo.

· It must only be applied to adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older.

· It is currently approved for the topical short-term and non-continuous chronic treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in non-immunocompromised patients 12 years of age and older.

· Satisfactory patient response may require treatment with Opzelura for more than 24 weeks.

· At the end of the clinical trials, 30% of Opzelura patients had at least 75% improvement in the facial Vitiligo Area Scoring Index, compared with 10% of placebo patients, which means the ointment still has loopholes.

Lastly, according to Mayo Clinic, “No drug can stop the process of vitiligo — the loss of pigment cells (melanocytes). But some drugs, used alone, in combination or with light therapy, can help restore some color.”

From this, we conclude that the claim that an over-the-counter ointment can cure vitiligo within 15–20 days is false.