Originally published on E! Online
Kim Kardashian speaks openly about family health battle.
The “Kardashians” star revealed that one of her and ex-husband Kanye West’s sons has been diagnosed with vitiligo, a rare skin condition that causes the skin to lose color in patches, according to Mayo Clinic.
Kardashian, who shares sons Saint, 8, and Psalm, 5, with the rapper, also revealed that one of her boys inherited the condition, as she has long battled her own skin condition, psoriasis.
“[Psoriasis] “I got it from my mother, I got it,” the SKIMS founder explained during a July 16 appearance on the SHE MD podcast, “and then I passed it on in a different form to my son, who has vitiligo.”
Kardashian’s skin condition has a different effect on her body than vitiligo. Instead of causing discoloration, psoriasis, a chronic condition that results from an overactive immune system, creates patches of scaly, inflamed skin, often on the scalp, elbows or knees, according to the Mayo Clinic.
And although her son was diagnosed when he was still a toddler, Kardashian — who is also mother to daughters North, 11, and Chicago, 6, with West — didn’t start experiencing symptoms of psoriasis until he was an adult.
“I got psoriasis when I was 30,” the 43-year-old recalls. “We were at my mom’s house and I was wearing a short skirt. She looked at my legs and said, ‘Oh my God, you have psoriasis.’”
Noting that she didn’t believe Kris Jenner at first, Kardashian later recounted confirming the matriarch’s diagnosis with a dermatologist who lived in her apartment building at the time before seeking treatment.
“I got a cortisone shot and it went away for a few years,” she continued. “It lay dormant for a few years, then it came back about five years later, and I’ve never gotten rid of it since.”
And her son isn’t the only one suffering from vitiligo; celebrities like Michael Jackson and Winnie Harlow have also been diagnosed with the condition.
The growing tension between Kim Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian came to a head on the latest episode of “Kardashians” after they accused each other of “mom-shaming” during a heated argument.
