The World Vitiligo Day is celebrated on 25th June of every year as the symbol of pride and awareness about this skin disease.

On this significant occasion, millions of people who are dealing with Vitiligo or are an ally to these people come out as an aggregate to spread awareness in the world about this disease, raise fund for the research, education, and support for vitiligo people and raise voice against prejudice by showing their pride.

In 2018, it will be the seventh World Vitiligo Day celebration which will be a week-long celebration and awareness campaign.

This day was first recognized Steve Hargadon, the founder of the Vitiligo Friends network, and then developed and finalized by Ogo Maduewesi, a Nigerian vitiligo patient who is the founder and Executive Director of the Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF).

This day is also denoted as Vitiligo Purple Fun day, as the purple is the color chosen to symbolize this disease.

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Know More About Vitiligo Disease:

This disease is caused due to the destruction of skin cells that are responsible for generating skin pigment. These cells are called melanocytes.

The lack of pigment causes visibly white patches on the skin at different and various part of the body.

The major cause behind this disease is unknown whereas it is believed that this disorder is an autoimmune disease which means that the body’s immunity system starts eliminating the unharmful cells as well.

The vitiligo disorder is not sex-biased as both male and female can fall at risk of this disease. It can also be genetical disease as it runs over parents to offsprings with visible symptoms like white patches on eyes, nose, genitals, armpits, navel, and mouth.

This disease is not much of chronic disease but is visible by naked eyes which turns traumatic for many people. Many people face isolation, bullying, and racism due to this disease so petitions are created to provide the help to needy ones.

There are many celebrities like the reporter, anchor Lee Thomas, king of pop Michael Jackson, Jamaican model Winnie Harlow and many more are suffering or suffered from this disease but rose up with pride and never let this disease come as a barrier between their stardom.

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Quick Facts About World Vitiligo Day:

1. The day of 25th June was fixed as a World Vitiligo Day to give a memorial respect to the Late musician Michael Jackson, who died on 25 June 2009 and who suffered from Vitiligo from the early 1980s.

2. The petitioners aimed to get a recognization of this disease associated with severe social complications and enable multilateral efforts in therapy development and health-care education by United Nations.

3. Natural remedies like stress reduction, drinking water from a copper vessel and applying sunscreen, papaya or red clay on the skin are effective in tackling the disease.

4. The Vitiligo disease has no particular prevention measure and is under research to find a reasonable prevention method and cure.

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