Whenever people encounter any health issue, they approach a professional to get completely cured. They take medicines and syringes regularly. Some people even have to go under surgery or get hospitalized to get relief from the pain and other problems.
However, in their hearts, most people wish to cure diseases they have from the inside so that they don’t have to rely on drugs. They wish to make feasible changes in their body so that they can get rid of the disease or disorder forever. Just like the patients of all other diseases, patients of melasma also think the same way.
If you are one of the patients who want to know how to cure Melasma from the inside, continue reading this blog post, as it contains important information on this topic. Medications might be helpful but depending on them for the long term might invite other health risks. We have discussed proven methods using which you can treat melasma from the inside out. We have also shared details on the reasons behind the occurrence of melasma. Without beating around the bush, let’s proceed forward.
What Exactly is Melasma? Can It Be Cured Without Medications?
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Melasma is a common skin condition that leads to dark patches or spots on the skin of a person. Most patients who suffer from this skin condition or skin ailment are women. Patients get discolored and irregular patches on the cheeks, lips, chin, nose, and other parts of the face. In some cases, they may also appear on the neck, shoulders, and forearms of the patient.
Also known as ‘Chloasma’ and ‘Mask of pregnancy’, melasma is a chronic condition. While in some cases, it gets cured on its own, in other cases, it’s too stubborn to get cured easily. This skin ailment does not put your health, skin, or body at risk. But over time, it might take a toll on your self-esteem and confidence. You might start thinking that you don’t look good, which in turn, can affect your quality of life on both personal and professional fronts.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to find out how to cure Melasma from the inside so that you can lead a decent quality of life without worrying about the side effects of medicines or suffering from self-image issues. The term ‘treating or curing the disease from the inside out’ implies that the disease is being cured by making significant changes to your lifestyle and mindset.
Treatment for Melasma: How to Cure Melasma from the Inside?
Now that you have understood what melasma is, you will understand how to cure Melasma from the inside quickly and properly. Before we begin, it’s important to highlight here that the results might vary from person to person.
Treat Hormonal Imbalance
Hormone imbalance or dysregulation is one of the major reasons why melasma occurs. If you have become a patient of melasma, you should consult a specialist to get yourself checked. If the hormonal imbalance is due to pregnancy, you will develop melasma when you are pregnant. In such a case, you need to wait until you give birth to your baby. Once you deliver your body, the melasma patches will disappear within a few months.
If you have a hormonal imbalance due to birth control pills, you should stop taking them or switch to other pills as per the recommendation of your gynecologist. If hormonal replacement therapy has led to a hormonal imbalance in your body, you might opt to stop undergoing the therapy. Once the therapy is stopped, melasma will get cured on its own within some months.
Decrease Stress
Another answer to the question ‘how to cure Melasma from the inside’ is reducing the stress level. Stress does not directly lead to the development of melasma, but it is indirectly responsible. It leads to the production of cortisol – the main stress hormone of the body – which in turn leads to an increase in estrogen levels.
Thus, decreasing your stress level can aid in preventing and curing melasma. While it might seem almost impossible to avoid or manage stress in today’s fast-paced life, some techniques can prove to be effective. You can follow the techniques mentioned below.
- Take care of your body and eat a well-balanced diet.
- Perform some physical exercises regularly.
- Practice deep breathing frequently throughout the day.
- Engage in hobbies you want to follow or develop.
- Do yoga and meditation to live life with mindfulness.
- Take a walk in a park and spend time in nature.
- Stay positive, forgive yourself, and remember to laugh.
- Avoid consuming tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Maintain a Well-Balanced Diet
Maintaining a well-balanced diet is essential whenever it comes to treating any disease from the inside out. Thus, if you want to know how to cure Melasma from the inside, you must make time to learn what are the right foods and beverages to consume.
Certain nutrients are helpful in making the melasma spots disappear. These nutrients include but are not limited to vitamin E, vitamin C, retinoids, and omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin C and vitamin E aid in repairing sun damage caused to the skin and thus cure melasma. You should eat anti-inflammatory foods as well as foods rich in antioxidants.
Some of the foods that have an ample amount of vitamin C and vitamin E are kiwis, oranges, pomegranates, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, lemons, legumes, fish, and nuts. You should also stay hydrated by drinking sufficient water and consuming foods that have high water content.
Take Enough Rest
Poor quality of sleep is also considered to be a factor responsible for causing melasma. Your skin is in healing mode when you are asleep. If you don’t sleep well or don’t sleep for a sufficient number of hours, you can start experiencing skin ailments. Sleeping for enough hours is necessary to stay physically fit and emotionally well.
If you don’t have a fixed time for sleeping and waking up, you should decide the time. If you find it hard to doze off even after laying in bed for hours, you should make changes to your habits, especially the ones you practice at night. A few bad habits that affect the quality of your life are working till late, using electronic devices in bed, eating heavy food at night, and consuming caffeine before sleeping.
One of the steps in understanding how to cure Melasma from the inside is to make a proper bedtime routine or night routine. You should stop using electronic devices at least one hour before sleep. You can put scented candles in the room or play soothing music that can help you sleep quickly.
Promote Liver Health
The liver performs a variety of functions in the human body. One of these functions is to regulate the balance of sex hormones, adrenal hormones, and thyroid hormones. Your liver is responsible for breaking down the hormones once they have been used by your body.
It removes excess hormones from your body. If your liver stops functioning properly, it may not be able to remove hormones properly. When hormones don’t get removed and get reabsorbed in your body, you can suffer from hormonal imbalance. Therefore, you must ensure that your liver always functions optimally. You can promote liver health by taking care of certain points. Some of these points are listed below.
- Consume foods and beverages high in fiber.
- Avoid or limit the consumption of alcohol.
- Do physical exercises on a daily basis.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Avoid contaminated needles.
- Don’t take illegal drugs.
Some of the foods that are good for the liver are grapes, blueberries, cranberries, watermelons, bananas, beetroots, nuts, figs, tea, coffee, garlic, broccoli, carrots, brown rice, and oatmeal. Foods that you should avoid in order to keep your liver healthy are sugar, processed foods, and salty foods.
It’s important to mention here that though you might have now known how to cure Melasma from the inside, you should also be aware of the conventional treatment options. It’s quite possible that you might need a combination of both natural and medical treatments to cure melasma.
Which Factors Lead to the Development of Melasma?
There is no clear and definitive answer to the question, ‘What Causes Melasma’. It is believed that melasma starts developing in a patient due to the acceleration of the activity of melanocytes. A melanocyte is a highly differentiated cell in the skin and eyes.
It produces and contains the pigment called melanin. Melanocytes synthesize melanin inside melanosomes. They are responsible for giving the skin its color. The acceleration of the activity of melanocytes results in the production of excessive melanin. There are some other factors as well that are believed to cause melasma in people.
Along with understanding how to cure Melasma from the inside, it’s also important to learn about these factors or reasons. Let’s have a look at them below.
Pregnancy
During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the levels of estrogen and progesterone get increased in the body of a woman. Estrogen is a hormone that is produced in a woman’s body. It plays a crucial role in the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Thus, the hormonal imbalance leads to melasma.
Birth Control Pills
Taking birth control pills also leads to a rise in the levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones. Hence, they also become a reason for the development of melasma in women.
Hormonal Replacement Therapy
Also known as ‘Menopausal Hormone Therapy’, Hormonal Replacement Therapy or HRT is a treatment that involves supplementing women with synthetic estrogen and progestogen to compensate for the hormones that are lost due to menopause. Thus, it leads to melasma in some women who receive this treatment.
Family History of Melasma
Learning how to cure Melasma from the inside is incomplete without learning the role of genetics in the development of this skin condition. Those who have a family history of melasma are more likely to become patients.
Thyroid Disease
Patients suffering from thyroid disease encounter hormonal changes in their bodies. These changes can become a triggering factor to cause melasma in some women.
Certain Medications
Certain medications increase the sensitivity of your skin to sunlight. These medicines include but are not limited to antibiotics, antifungals, sulfonylureas (taken by patients with type-2 diabetes), retinoids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and cholesterol lowering drugs.
Conclusion
You should apply sunscreen whenever you go outside to make sure that the exposure to sunlight does not cause melasma. If you suspect that you have melasma, you should approach a healthcare professional to confirm your suspicion.