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somebody please help !!! vitiligo

Posted , 3 users are following.

merci49936
merci49936

I wanted to know what's the chances of me catching vitiligo if a parent has it. I'm. 17 years of age and just recently got in touch with my real father. he suffers from vitiligo. I saw a picture of him at age 37 with this disease and it was hardly noticeable, only a few patches here and there but very small. I met him in person at age 38 with the vitiligo disease and it look like the vitiligo had taken over 40 or 50 % of his body judging by the areas I could see from. I'm very scared, I'm 17 and haven't seen any signs on my body of vitiligo however I did suffer from really bad eczema as a kid but it got reduced down in the six grade and I haven't had it since. I am now a junior in high school. having the eczema made me worry even more but I realize eczema and vitiligo are just two positions in the same ball field. the two don't mix... just like track and cross country, both involve running but your more likely to just do because they don't mix as well. I'm very scared, i take care of my body and skin, I wash normally I don't stress at all I'm always laughing and being goofy. ??? 

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • isabelle2207
    isabelle2207 merci49936

    Posted

    Hi, 

    Please don't panic. I'm 17 too and I have vitiligo and eczema and no one else in my family suffers from either of them (although there is a history of other auto-immune diseases in my family).  As I understand it, there is a very slight increase in the likelihood of you having vitiligo because your father does, and it is still most likely that it will not develop in you at all.

     I hear 50% of cases develop when people are around 20. Once you get past that stage it seems logical that it is less likely to ocur at all. I don't know whether keeping fit will make much difference to your chances, however keeping an eye on your skin would be wise: one of the more effective treatments involves putting cream on the skin soon after it changes. I did not know about this when my patches first appwared, but it could have 'saved' them.

    I can understand your trepidation, although it does not seem too likely you will be effected. Nevertheless, there are many worse traits to inherit; vitilgo does not effect your health and there are options to help you with any embarrassment. I hope this is useful and that you're happy with your skin, whatever happens.

    P.S I'm not aware that there's much evidence of a link between eczema and vitiligo - for me it's just a coincidence.

    • merci49936
      merci49936 isabelle2207

      Posted

      thank you so much Isabelle. I did a lot of research and found out a lot to do with vitiligo. I think what scares me the most about it that there's no cure for it and you can catch it at any age !!! they say what you don't know won't hurt you, and sometimes I wish I could battle my chances without knowing that my dad has it. but I will definitely take in consideration about what your saying. thank you very much Isabelle I will keep you in my prayers and pray for you everyday. 
    • isabelle2207
      isabelle2207 merci49936

      Posted

      You are most welcome, I hope you will not suffer the condition, and that if you do it does not bother you too much. I will hold you in my prayers too, God bless.
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