Summary:
Kolkata: In a bid to change the attitude of people to towards the taboo associated with skin diseases and obliterate the social stigma associated with it, the Indian Society for Pediatric Dermatology organised a seminar titled Skin Diseases and Untouchability Stigma at Rotary Sadan on Saturday. "Skin disease not only has a huge psycho-social stigma but it also has many myths associate with it. The study, published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, showed that skin diseases are more prevalent than thought earlier, but many affected people do not consult a physician. More than 70 per cent elderly men were found suffering from skin diseases, which is more than women (58 percent). "Vitiligo does not have any harmful effect on a person and is non-contagious in nature yet it creates a social stigma," pointed out Dhar..