A special 'swayamvaram'

by Rishi Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:41 pm

http://www.dailypioneer.com/images/PDF/today_epaper.pdf (see page 6)

TRICHY: A special 'swayamvaram' held here on Monday proved to be a memorable event for 18 people affected with leucoderma as they could choose their life partner.

Fifty-nine young men and women from Trichy, Madurai, Salem, Coimbatore, Erode, Namakkal and Thirunelveli participated in Sunday's programme held by the Leucoderma Awareness Movement (India). All the participants, except a partially visually-challenged man, had vitiligo, also known as leucoderma, the condition characterised by irregular white patches on skin. Though most of them were well-educated and engaged in good professions, the skin disorder dimmed their chances of entering into wedlock.

"After we called for a 'swayamvaram', more than 400 people from across the state registered their names for participation. We have collected no fees for this purpose as we conduct the event with donations. We have selected 59 people, both men and women, this time around. Rest would be called up to attend the next 'swayamvaram' programmes to be held elsewhere in Tamil Nadu," informed ToI K Umapathy, the secretary of the movement.

Interestingly, 18 participants from Chennai, Coimbatore, Thirunelveli, Erode, Coimbatore and Namakkal chose their life partners in this event. Of the nine pairs, two chose for inter-religious (Hindu-Christian) alliances and the rest preferred inter-caste marriages.

This special event to help vitiligo patients chose a life partner was held for the first time in south India, claimed the organisers. For most of the participants, who came here to find a lifemate, caste and profession were not a constraint. All that a participant needed was a partner who understands him or her.

"Our programme was a great success in the first attempt itself. The participants and their parents are elated after finding a match for their children. Most of them did not talk about dowry and other issues. They expected a mutually understandable partner. The marriages would be conducted as per their tradition," said Umapathy.

For B Loganathan, a 29-year-old bridegroom from Karur, the Swayamvaram was a great opportunity to find a perfect match. "The government should take steps to create awareness to remove wrong notions about leucoderma. Moreover, such programmes should be conducted by the government to give a new life to the affected people," he said.

People living with leucoderma find it difficultly to lead a normal life as they feel demoralised because of the social stigma attached to the condition. Leucoderma, a disorder (not a disease), is caused by the deficiency of melanin pigment. Even though, it is medically proven that leucoderma is not hereditarily acquired and it would not lead to health problems, people still keep distance from affected people. The state government passed an order to call the disorder 'Venpulligal' instead of 'Venkushtam' (white leprosy).

by Maria S Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:52 am

This is good to know..applaud those who organized this effort.
Leucoderma/Vitiligo still has so much stigma and fear/anxiety attached to it- leading to isolation because of the visible skin changes.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2023428,00.html

Thanks for posting.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:22 am

The saddest part about vitiligo, a skin condition, is that they still haven't been able to find a definite cure for it. I heard that there is a treatment for it in the Ayurveda, but no more research or investigation on it.

by Maria S Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:43 am

Good Morning Seva:)

Yes, there are alternative/ayurvedic treatments available, and to my knowledge lead to very limited improvement. Hope they do find effective treatment methods soon.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:55 am

Good Morning Maria.

We have a family in our relations in H.P., practising medicine (Ayurveda) for several generations. I heard some of its family members claiming a sure cure for this condition, but I never had a time to dig deeper and find out if the claims were really true.

Lamberdar

by Guest Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:03 am

Good but...

Another probable cause for leucoderma is hereditary, i.e. it is sometimes passes down through generations. Basically if one or both parents have leucoderma, their children may have a fraction of a higher risk than other children of having this skin disorder. Though even normal people are at a risk of having leucoderma despite no family history, the chances of developing this skin disorder are a bit more in people who have parents or grandparents suffering from leucoderma. Sadly in cases where leucoderma is hereditary there are less chances that it will get completely cured. However, homeopathy treatment and some home remedies for cure, like use of psoralea seeds and red clay in ginger water, or goosefoot, turmeric powder, etc. can help prevent the disorder from spreading and regaining the normal skin pigmentation

by Maria S Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:17 am

Sure. There is always a higher risk..when it come to hereditary disorders- and no cure.

But, there are always risks- most (almost all!) people don't know about the family medical history of the potential groom/bride and at least here..they are marrying knowingly and willingly.People who look perfectly fine..can develop Vitiligo after getting married, nothing one can do about that.

*This is also - literally a superficial skin condition..for those who can look past that (which is a challenge and not easy), nothing else is different, that's the good news here.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:18 am

Good point Vidya, about the possibility of heredity factors with respect to leucodema.

However, considering that some things (e.g. ginger and turmeric applications etc., as you noted above) keep the condition in check, seems to indicate that it may be possible through proper medicine to eradicate this condition (at least its visible signs) completely.

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