The symptoms of the disorder are linked to excessive use of chemical products on skin. Intense exposure to sunlight and consumption of oral contraceptives and involvement in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are also considered likely causes of this skin disease. Melasma causes pigmentation of the skin and occurs normally as scales, patches and dots.
What happens in Melasma?
The following symptoms hint at Melasma.
- Tanning of skin, leading to permanent discolouration
- Scaling of nose, lips and cheeks
- Darkening of upper lips
- Darkening of elbows, knees, buttocks, hips and underarms and inner thighs
- Tanning of eyelids and neck
Who is at risk of Melasma?
Women are more likely to be inflicted with melasma, especially the ones who are in child-bearing age or who are undergoing hormone therapy. Hormones trigger the symptoms associated with melasma.
How to treat melasma?
Melasma can't be treated completely with a single treatment alone. The signs only fade away with time and that too with the use of combination treatment.
Here are best treatment plans to handle melasma.
- Stay indoors
Limited exposure to sunlight is one of the best and most effective ways to curb the onset of melasma. Use sunscreen and cover the body from the sunlight, especially if you are venturing out in the afternoon hours.
- Hydroquinone Gel
Hydroquinone is one of the best known treatments to arrest the effect of melasma among the equatorial population. Use of hydroquinone in the form of gels, liquids, cream and lotion can be used as per the prescription of the doctor.
This can be administered through galvanic or ultra-sound facials.
- Triple cream
It is a combination of three skin-lightening agents:
- Hydroquinone
- Tretinoin
- Corticosteroid
It can be used regularly without side effects, especially with low concentrations of hydroquinone. The cream combination may also contain other non-hydroquinone agents like tazaratone and adapelene.
- Tropical medications
Another popular treatment to fight the symptoms of melasma is a skin-lightening combination of Azelaic acid or Kojic acid dipalmitate. It works well for initial phase of melasma. Advanced stages might require the intervention of a dermatologist. This treatment is recommended exclusively for hyper-sensitive skin. Special care should be taken if you are pregnant or are taking hormone injections.
- Chemical Peeling
Physical removal or peeling of the affected skin is also a very effective way of retaining the old glow. It is costlier than cream-based applications but shows results, nonetheless. The most common procedure done to peel off the region affected by melasma is Micro-dermabrasion or dermabrasion treatment.
- LASER
LASER application also makes the skin lighter affected by melasma. The results vary from person to person and rather costly compared to other treatments.
Effectiveness of the treatment
Each of the treatment has its own window of effectiveness. Good results are expected within 30 days of application.
Source : articlesbase.com
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