Historical aspects

Abstract

Core Messages: The term vitiligo was introduced in the first century of our era. The mistaking of leprosy for vitiligo in the Old Testament under Zoorat or Zaraath is an important cause for the social stigma attached to white spots on the skin. Modern photochemotherapy (PUVA) was an improvement of photochemotherapy practised in the ancient world with herbals containing furocoumarins. The stigma historically associated with the disease has not disappeared, and information and educational programmes should be implemented to fight this problem, especially the fear of contagion. The physician must know what his predecessors have known, if he does not deceive both himself and others Hippocrates © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.