Vitiligo, Michael Jackson and 65 Million Others Worldwide
After someone famous dies, we often become more interested in the diseases they had which when they were alive--we paid little attention. Michael Jackson revealed that he had lupus and vitiligo many years ago, but the news was not played up to the public.
The condition of his skin was often reported on but not in a way that helped any of us understand what he or others with this condition might be going through.
Vitiligo is a skin condition where the cells that make skin color, the melanocytes, are destroyed so that white patches appear. It frequently occurs on hands, faces and neck areas. Vitiligo may occur in conjunction with other autoimmune disease like lupus and appears to have a genetic disposition as it can run in families.
Medical treatments for vitiligo include:
1. Topical steroids: Creams containing cortisone, similar to the anti-inflammatory hormone produced in the body, may need to be applied for months before results can be seen. Cortisone creams are not as effective as PUVA (see below) but are the safest drugs to use so are appropriate for children.
2. PUVA: Is thought to be the most effective treatment for vitiligo but is time consuming. A drug called psoralen is spread on the depigmented area or taken orally before exposing the area to UVA light. Treatments are given 2 or 3 times a week in a doctor’s office. Sunburn is the greatest risk after these exposures so sunscreen must always be worn. Oral psoralen phototherapy is not recommended for children under 10. (if you have a history of lupus like Michael Jackson was reported to have, PUVA therapy is also not recommended.)
3. Depigmentation: For people who have vitiglio on over 50% of their body, depigmentation may be considered. Patients apply a hydroquinone cream twice a day to the pigmented areas until it matches the whitened areas of their skin. The result is usually permanent and the person will be exceptionally sensitive to the sun and always require sunscreen for protection.
Surgical treatments for vitiligo are only considered if medical therapy is unsuccessful.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
Add a Comment15 Comments
please correct your article, Michael Jackson stated that he did have vitiligo, but never said anything about lupus.
November 11, 2009 - 10:19amThis Comment
he said something about lupus, too
November 11, 2009 - 11:57amMJ's doctors have mentioned lupus (at least 2 different doctors). MJ said he has skin condition in the Oprah interview but didn't speak of a techical term. MJ was a part of lupus fundraisers too. BTW, why does he need to declare to the world he has a disease? How many of us would want ALL our friends and relatives know about our diseases? Come on, here we are talking about the most famous man on earth and every corner of the world knows him. I believe he deserved a lot more privacy than us as he was hardly granted any. Imagine he goes out to Paddigton station and people mob him until they knock him off to floor (I believe it was the same whether it was Japan, UK, India or USA). We can never imagine what it was to be MJ.
November 11, 2009 - 6:01pmI feel funny speaking about Michael in this way because Michael tried to have some privacy. In Oprah's interview, Michael speaks of his Vitiligo condition which can be a symptom of Lupus. He states that he had a serious disease but did not name it. It is Geraldo Rivera that did a follow-up story about Michael having Lupus. Michael's most recent dermatologist has since devulged, at least twice, what is supposed to confidential; client/patient information.
November 11, 2009 - 10:47amplease not that Michael was very sensitive emotionally, mentally AND physically. This was obviously overlooked by his most recent physician and many others. The often seen photo of him going to court in his pajamas was really no joke. It causes me great anguish when I think about how awfully Michael has been treated especially, a man who showed great humility as he was shy about personal issues.
November 11, 2009 - 10:58amWhat I tried to discuss in this article is the great difficulty it is to have such a visible disease whether you are a visible person like Michael Jackson, a newscaster like Lee Thomas or are one of the 65 million others who have this incurable disease. The lupus plays in because it limited what treatment that Michael could have since PUVA isn't reccommended if you have lupus. He really was between a rock and a hard place and most of us had no idea of what inner turmoil he must have felt.
It has been stated in multiple sites that Michael Jackson was diagnosed in
1986 with vitiligo and SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) The lupus was reported to be in remission.
There is no way to really find a site that has a direct quote from Michael Jackson that he announced to the public he had lupus which would not be something he would want to emphasize to his fans. Deepak Chopra admits Michael Jackson had lupus and he is an endocrinologist. Dr. Klein Michael's dermatologist told Larry King he tested Michael for lupus and he tested positive. Clearly it was revealed to some people which is how it got in the media but it was always downplayed.
November 11, 2009 - 11:23amI see/feel where you're coming from, Michele, thank you. But can you try to put yourself in Michael's body and feel for even a few seconds the magnitude of invasion he must have felt, placed by destiny on the world scene when people tried to anatomically dissect him from very early on? He often felt embarrassed when the spotlight was shone on him, why? Well, I can relate to this, and not because I'm "shy" (which MJ wasn't BTW)--there is a wealth of nuances pertaining to states of blushing, such as being reticent, reserved, modest, etc., which is natural to even a newborn without social conditionings. When you try to stay true to yourself (as difficult as it is in today's world of multilayered influences and invasions on your identity), people in their brutish herd-mentality selves try to mob you with pitchforks into their own state of mediocrity. And that's what still keeps happening to someone like MJ. Why oh why can't we protect the jewels of God's creation like Michael was to the world, whose main motif was to model to us what a true human being may be and become? I supposed, as a mob, we haven't evolved yet...
November 11, 2009 - 12:09pmTotally agree with you. MJ was not at all what media portrayed him to be. He was not shy (to me- he is the most and the best expressive artist, and he was so clear with his views and statements in his interviews), he was not gay or asexual (you don't need better proof than his songs/dance moves)- let's not even talk about the tragic accusation and of course vindication by the court itself.
November 11, 2009 - 5:54pmAnd yes, why does all this matter anyway? We have got to respect his private persona and thank him and the creation for his talent.
Wow! There's a huge difference between secrecy and privacy. If someone wanted to divulge my health issues, I'd be cringing. I don't wish to withhold info, when it makes a difference, but I need to be the one to choose how, when, where, to whom... so I don't feel emotionally, mentally, bodily, spiritually raped. Our Western world of reporting is lacking basic decency! It's essential for our inner health to be left alone in our private travails. Respect, reverence, esteem, quiet wonderment and awe... where have these qualities go? Do we really need to strip ourselves and others to the bone to feel something??? Do we hunger to see the emperor with no clothes on the feel better about ourselves? SO SAD!!!
November 11, 2009 - 11:37amMichale having vitiligo or lupus which he had both was not the problem, the problem was that people taunted him about his vitiligo making untrue statements and claiming he had no such disease but that he bleached his skin. Michael himself told the word he had vitiligo hoping to clear some peoples inquisitive and insatiable appetite to know other peoples business, however the world turned on him and called him names and made fun of him, never mind the pictures to prove he had vitiligo, never mind the fact that it is impossible to bleach your whole body, never mind the spots of brown spots showing on his white skin as he performed, never mind the fact that he walked around with an umbrella shielding himself from the sun's ability to cause him cancer due to de-pigmentation of his skin, never mind and overlook all the proof pointing to vitiligo and simply write what fools wanted to hear.
Thanks to the tabloids, main stream media and websites which don't monitor their posting degrading speech to be said about honorable people.
It's a proven fact that his diseases wasn't his problem because he continued to perform and do great and he continued to be loved by his loyal fans, It's a fact that the people and news organizations who graduated from ignorance to stupidity was his problem.
Notice that Sammy Sosa and his PR team making statements that he is not trying to be like Michael Jackson. What in the hell does that mean? Can you imagine someone bald saying "they are not trying to be like Farah Fawcett"? Some articles today stating "sammy does not have Michael Jackson disease" I didn't know there was a disease called "Michael Jackson" Why can't they simply say " Sammy Sosa is not suffering from Vitiligo"? Because they are STUPID, INSENSITIVE, UNEDUCATED, UNLOVING FOOLS. My God kill them all.
November 11, 2009 - 4:43pm