New Orleans - Imagine waking up one morning and seeing your body has drastically changed colors. It is reality for many people.
A lot of people had not heard of vitiligo until Michael Jackson blamed his "whitening" skin on the disease. Still, even after going public with that explanation, Jackson was dogged by skeptics who fueled speculation that the eccentric entertainer whose facial features underwent dramatic changes over the years also resorted to extreme bleaching to turn the brown skin he was born with ivory.
Jean Baker is a building specialist at Xavier University. He has vitiligo. The onset for him came when he was away from New Orleans. "Actually it started when I was in the military, I was playing basketball, I scratched myself over my eye," he said. That slight injury developed into something he had never experienced.
"Once it started spreading I really didn't like going anywhere, you know I was kind of shy about it, you know everywhere you go you get looks, especially from kids," Baker said.
Suzette Valteau of New Orleans noticed her skin getting white spots while she was displaced in Atlanta after Katrina. Now, her hands and arms are dramatically whiter than the rest of her body. Jean and Suzette are both African-American. For darker skinned people suddenly having their skin take on a white hue can be emotionally distressing. Valteau said, "it’s very much an emotional roller coaster."
Vitiligo expert, Dr. Erin Boh, a Tulane Dermatologist would not pass judgment on whether Michael Jackson really had the disease but said the skin condition is a serious problem that not only affects peoples' physical appearance but also impacts them emotionally. "There is clearly a disease that causes de-pigmentation and it can be quite devastating psychologically to people," she said.
Dr. Boh debunked myths that vitiligo only affects blacks. She said for sure its more apparent in dark skinned individuals, but can affect anyone and at anytime. "It is not inherited, so its an acquired process, the most prevailing theory about why people get vitiligo is that their immune system somehow gets triggered to start attacking and killing the pigment forming cells," said Boh.
Vitiligo is not the same condition which results in babies being born as albinos. Albinos have no pigment forming cells, according to medical experts. Elizabeth Gosling, who is caucasian, also suffers from vitiligo. When asked about the spots that appeared on her hands she said, "They really almost showed up overnight." Gosling said having to worry about the sun has been frustrating. Unpigmented skin is at greater risk of skin cancer.
"In 2007, it got really bad to the point where I really couldn't go out in the sun," Gosling said.
Dr. Boh said often patients who present with vitiligo discoloration have suffered some type of trauma or illness. "Diseases that affect the thyroid is a very common one. Patients can have vitiligo and overlap with lupus or even rheumatoid arthritis," she said.
While there is no cure, treatments are available to help lessen the appearance of the disease. Light therapy is one form of treatment which involves patients being exposed to light through a machine. Permanent skin bleaching is seen by some as an extreme treatment. "I have had people ask for that and I think that in and of itself, that's a difficult choice for a person to make. I mean if you're African-American and you say hey I'm gonna de-pigment my whole skin and be white that's difficult to handle from a mental state so I truthfully don't encourage people to do that," said Dr. Boh.
Skin grafting has also been researched.
About two percent of the population is affected by vitiligo. Jean Baker said life must go on despite what has happened to his skin. "You're gonna get your looks, people are going to look at you and you just have to deal with it," he said.
