A randomized clinical trial of Shaman chikitsa versus Shaman chikitsa with vamana in vitiligo (Shwitra)

Abstract

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder due to melanocyte destruction in the epidermis. It is a social stigma. Therefore, it affects the patient psychologically as well. Various therapies have been evaluated in the management of vitiligo. Vamana is a helpful panchakarma to treat skin diseases, but it has still not been studied. To study the efficacy of Vamana, we randomly selected 30 patients with vitiligo and divided them into two groups of 15 patients in each group. For Group A, Vamana was administered, and oral Swayambhu Guggul was administered at 500 mg/day with cow urine and Savarnakar Lepa for local application. This treatment was given for six weeks. In Group -B, the same treatment was given without Vamana. The Vitiligo Area Severity Index (VASI) and overall assessment were used to assess the results. Group A decreased the score from 59.67 to 27.20 ± 18.28, and Group B decreased the score from 42.6 to 36.2 ± 7.58. The P value was statistically significant in Group A and nonsignificant in Group B. In the overall assessment, Group A showed statistically significant results. We concluded that Vamana with Shaman Chikitsa is more efficacious than Shaman Chikitsa alone, but more studies are required to ascertain whether vitiligo can be reversed completely by the combined treatment of Vamana and Shaman Chikitsa.