POLOKWANE – Vitiligo is a disease that causes loss of skin colour all over the body and the extent of colour loss in unpredictable.
Maputi says when she first noticed the blotches on her skin, she went to the hospital, not knowing what was happening until the patches began appearing on other parts of her body.
Maphuti’s work requires her to be in the sun, which makes her patches hot and itchy, however, she has no choice but to keep working as she is the sole provider at home.”I cannot stop working because there is no one to provide for my children.”
While she is the one with the disease, Maphuti says her children bare the brunt of it as remarks are made to them.”I get asked why my skin is the way it is but my children get teased as people tell them I have weird skin or that I am white,” she told BONUS.
Dermatologist, Dr Ah Shar advises people to eat fresh fruit and maintain a good diet. He explained that vitilgo occurs when cells that produce pigment, die.”It is not contagious and it is treatable depending on the area affected. There is a 30% chance of heredity,” he said.
Shar further advised people to come for treatment as soon as they notice the white patches, there is no cure as the cause is still unknown. Dr Maredi Mathapo, who is a clinical psychologist, explained that people living with vitiligo have to deal with internal and external stigmas which affect one’s self-esteem.
“People lack knowledge and they think that it is contagious, that is why they discriminate against people with the disease. Those living with vitiligo go through stages of anger, denial, depression but in the end, acceptance.”He also said people living with the disease need support from the population at large and they should be treated like everyone else.”People with vitiligo should not let their skin pigmentation define them, what matters is how they see themselves.”
