Kim Kardashian has long been open about her experience with psoriasis, often sharing unfiltered looks at her outbreaks on social media and explaining how the skin condition has impacted her life. On a recent episode of the She MD podcast, Kardashian shared that one of her sons also has an immune-related skin condition: vitiligo.
“My son has an autoimmune disease and they said it’s hereditary, we’re still trying to figure it out,” Kardashian explained. “[Psoriasis] came from my mom, went to me… and I’ve passed [it] on in a different form to my son, who has vitiligo, very mildly.”
Vitiligo is a condition that causes parts of the skin to lose color in patches, per Mayo Clinic. It occurs when the cells that produce melanin, which determines the color of hair and skin, die or stop functioning. Doctors believe vitiligo may be related an autoimmune condition as well as family history.
“We got it under control,” Kardashian said of her son’s case, but noted that she had a lot to learn about the disease, which “I didn’t know anything about,” she admitted. “Having to learn about it and figuring out where it came from, and that’s hereditary and just learning more and being able to share that with people.”
Kardashian didn’t share which of her two sons — Saint, 8, and Psalm, 5, both with her ex Kanye West — has the condition, which typically appears before age 30. Like psoriasis, it can be triggered by stress or a physical event, such as severe sunburn or contact with a chemical. It can affect any area or amount of skin or hair, from covering nearly all skin surfaces (universal vitiligo) to just a few places (localized vitiligo). According to Pfizer, vitiligo affects about 1 percent of the world’s population.
Kardashian also noted that her “kids have a little bit of eczema,” a skin condition that causes “red, itchy, and inflamed plaques of skin,” as dermatologist Dr. Calvin Williams previously told SheKnows. Kardashian’s own condition, psoriasis, is similar, occurring when an overactive immune system causes skin cells to multiply too quickly. This leads to patches of scaly, itchy, and inflamed patches of skin, according to Mayo Clinic.
On the podcast, Kardashian explained that she experienced her first psoriatic outbreak at age 30, and took care of it with a cortisone shot. That kept the issue at bay for five years, but it eventually returned “and I’ve never gotten rid of it again,” the SKIMS founder said. “It’s here to stay.” She’s managed the off-and-on lesions through a variety of treatments, including topical ointments and occasional steroid medications.
Of sharing her diagnosis with fans, Kardashian said, “Obviously, that’s who I am… I’ve really learned so much along the way. I want to give that to all of my sisters and friends and people.”
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