I am writing this article to encourage anyone with vitiligo or any other autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, Sjorgren syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, Addison’s disease, alopecia areata, pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis and celiac disease.
What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo is the skin disease that Michael Jackson was said to be suffering from. It is a skin disorder in which white patches develop on the skin. It affects all races but it is obviously more noticeable and I would assume more distressing on people with skin of color and especially the darker skin types IV to VI.
Though the cause of vitiligo is not known, it is suspected to be an autoimmune disease caused by an autoimmune process.
What are autoimmune diseases?
Autoimmune diseases are those diseases in which the body’s immune system attacks its own cells. In other words, the body's defense system attacks the cells it is supposed to protect from harmful invaders.
In the case of vitiligo, these “rebel” immune cells attack cells called melanocytes which are responsible for producing the skin color pigment and thus white patches appear on different parts of the body.
The treatment of most autoimmune diseases is therefore to control the body’s immune response by using immunosuppressive medications. Examples include corticosteroids such as prednisone which is taken by mouth and betamethasone creams which are applied on the skin. Other immunosuppresives used as treatment for autoimmune diseases include tactrolimus, azathioprine and cylophosphamide.
My vitiligo story
I first noticed the signs of vitiligo over my left eyebrow around 3-4 years ago. To say the least, it was distressing since I did not understand why it should develop on my face first. I therefore did all I could to treat it.
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| Vitiligo picture |
I begun by using topical corticosteriod creams which I applied on the lesions twice a day but I noticed that they surprisingly made it worse. This could have been due to the known skin lightening effect of topical steroids and thus in my case the white patches appeared larger.
I therefore stopped using topical steroid creams and begun applying tacrolimus 0.1% . But, I developed an even worse side effect of subconjuctival hemorrhage or bleeding in the eye which in my situation was terrible as I was bleeding in both eyes.
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| Subconjuctival hemorrhage picture |
At this point I gave up on conventional medicine and gave up the condition to God. I even wrote a book called Vitiligo by Dr Miriam Kinai
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.Note that if you have an autoimmune disease, I am not suggesting that you should stop taking your conventional medications without discussing the consequences and your other options with your doctor. I was able to make that decision by myself because I am a doctor.
Events Surrounding My Vitiligo Cure
Around 25th June 2011, I developed a very severe rash on my face. This rash was mysterious because I have not had a facial rash for as long as I can remember. Even during my teenage years, God had blessed me with smooth skin.
In addition to that, I had not changed any of my facial products or eaten unusual foods though the rash was pretty itchy and therefore, I suspected that it may be an “allergic rash”.
But, this rash was initially concentrated on my T zone that is from the forehead to the areas around my mouth and therefore I wondered if there was a sebaceous aspect to it also.
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| Generalized facial rash picture |
On 30th June 2011, I lost my job. This was tough because though my job was very stressful, I loved it.
Loosing my job also meant I lost my medical cover therefore I could not seek medical attention (or rather request a doctor to prescribe the medications I need as some doctors including myself are prone to do). I also did not want to spend the money I had buying over the counter medications and so I decided to try homemade natural treatments to my rapidly spreading facial rash.
Around 1st July 2011, I begun applying a mixture of essential oils with a vegetable oil on my face thrice a day. As some of you may know, I am a certified aromatherapist and therefore quite knowledgeable on the use of essential oils.
On 3rd July 2011, I went for a Christian crusade. I had not gone specifically for a healing because even when the Bishop asked all those who were sick to go to the altar, I did not go because I had totally forgotten about the facial rash and vitiligo. When he asked as to place our hands on the sick areas on our body I found myself placing my hand on my forehead and this puzzled me because as I said, I had forgotten about my skin conditions.
But, as we were praying, the word “vitiligo” dropped into spirit as if the Holy Spirit was reminding me about it and I prayed against vitiligo in the Mighty name of Jesus.
On 7th July 2011, I was at home when the word “vitiligo” dropped in my spirit again and I picked up a mirror and I could not believe what I saw. The vitiliginous skin had totally disappeared as my skin color was now normal. As you can see the area above my left eyebrow has normal pigmentation. The other mysterious rash is still present on my forehead but it has markedly improved.
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| Vitiligo cured |
So What Healed The Vitilgo?
Was it the healing Christian Crusade?
Was it the essential oil mixture?
Was it spontaneous resolution?
Since since studies have not been done, I cannot claim that my essential oil mixture cured the vitiligo though I used oils with known anti-inflammatory properties and applied them over the vitiliginous areas not by design, but by default since the mysterious rash covered by entire face. In addition these essential oils I used have been around for centuries, just as long as vitiligo has been and so I suppose someone would have stumbled upon this healing combination.
As for spontaneous resolution, it is known to happen in some cases where a person's vitiligo heals on it own. But, in my situation I would not be so quick to give it credit for my healing because stress is thought to worsen vitiligo as it is one of the conditions studied in the psychodermatology. Therefore, why should the vitiligo resolve spontaneously when I am facing the new stress of sudden unemployment?
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| Psychodermatology picture zebra loosing stripes due to stress? |
Therefore, I am left with no other choice than to give credit for God for the healing of vitiligo. I place my money on that healing crusade I attended because the Power of God was present in a mighty way and very many people where healed including the dumb.
Take Home Lessons
I strongly recommend a holistic approach for the management of all medical conditions and especially the autoimmune ones which have no "quick fix".
This holistic approach includes:
1. Conventional medicine - discuss with your doctor the available treatment options and their side effects.
2. Alternative medicine - research your options but before you begin using any "natural treatment" regardless of whether they are herbs or nutritional supplements or essential oils or Bach flower remedies always inform your doctor because some may react adversely to the medications you may be taking and cause more harm than good to your body.
3. Improving your physical health by exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep and possibly adopting an anti-inflammatory diet that is rich in anti-oxidant nutrients such as vitamins A, C, E and selenium. You can do this by increasing the number of raw, brightly colored fruits and vegetables you eat each day.
4. Improving your mental health by managing stress effectively. This blog is full of stress management relaxation techniques and is therefore not a bad place to start.
5. Improving your spiritual health by developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and involving Him in all aspects of your life. You can begin by saying with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believing in your hear that when He died for our sins, God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
In addition, understand that to receive your miracle healing, you have to believe that He can heal you regardless of how long you have suffered from vitiligo, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, Sjorgren syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, Addison’s disease, alopecia areata, pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis or celiac disease.
Having faith is paramount to being healed because we see Jesus on numerous occasions healing people by telling them "As you have believed let it be done to you." (Matthew 8:13 and Mark 5:34)
In addition, understand that healing takes place on many levels. I believe I received one level of healing when the vitiilgo stopped disturbing me even though it was “defacing” me.
This is the type of deliverance that Jesus gave to the paralyzed man who was brought to him lying on a mat and Jesus told him "Take up your mat and go home." (Mark 2:10-12) His sick mat was still in his life, but that did not stop him from getting on with his normal business.
Note that if God so chooses, He can give you the grace to live with the condition without taking it out of your life permanently. We can see this clearly when Paul asked God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh (this could have been a physical disease) but God replied by telling him, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:)
Therefore, if you have prayed and prayed and the physical disease is stilll present in your life, do not despair, ask Him for the grace to bear it until the day He so chooses to take it away permanently.
