Vitiligo

In the past two days I've been surprised to run into two strangers that share the same annoying skin problem as me. Vitiligo - for some unknown reason the autoimmune system in the body kills the skin pigment cells leaving white patches (no pigment). I would be happier without this problem, but things could be worse. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

To deal with it, I half-heartedly use a steroid treatment from the dermatologist to try to bring the cells back. It's gooey and I have to be in the sun to help trigger the effect - thus darkening my pigmented portions emphasizing the white spots. It's a slow process and I'd guess that for every few cells that come back over a couple of months of treatment, thousands more die.

It's not researched very well because it is a cosmetic disease, non life threatening. I pretty much have 2 options, I can use a cream to kill the rest of my pigment and stay out of the sun (like Michael Jackson did) or I can deal with it. Whatever...

Just don't let your kids go running, screaming "Freak!" when they see us coming.