Kevin Brown learning to live with vitiligo

Fifteen years ago, Kevin Brown started noticing pale patches showing up on his skin.

What started as small spots soon spread across his hands, feet, and elbows, quickly leading to a diagnosis of vitiligo, a condition that causes loss of skin pigment in patches.

"I got burnt on the job," he recalled. "And three months after that, the spots started showing up." At the time, he was working in a maintenance role and was exposed to chemicals. The changes in his skin came quickly, but understanding and acceptance took much longer.

"At first, I was scared and mi did kinda shame," the 44-year-old admitted. "I used to cut socks and put them on my hands or buy gloves to hide it. Then when it spread to my elbows, I'd cut the socks again, to cover the patches." However, when the condition spread to his face, hiding it became impossible.

"I couldn't hide it any more because it did keep on a spread, but then mi start see other people with it, and that was when mi kinda realise a never me alone have it," he said.

Despite that comforting feeling, the unkind treatment he received because he was gradually losing his pigment was shattering.

"Whenever I walked into a room, people would just stare at me, and when dem ready dem call mi 'Bun up' and 'Pitchy patchy', and that did mek mi feel low; and suh mi did wah cover up mi skin even more," Brown said.

However, the turning point came when he decided to visit Kingston Public Hospital, not for treatment, but for observation.

"Mi did just guh there and sit in the public area and just look around," he said. "Mi see people with missing limbs, people who had lost so much more. And I said to myself, 'God, I haven't lost a limb. It's just a skin disorder,' and that change mi perspective and helped me move forward," he added.

Brown also told THE STAR that despite the emotional toll, and how unkind he was treated at times, he also found strength through the support of family.

"My family has always accepted me; my mother, my sister, and especially my kids - my two sons and two daughters. They never put me down," he said.

Although he initially used various prescribed creams to treat his vitiligo, Brown said that they did not work for him. So he started his own wellness routine and is convinced it has helped slow the progression of the condition.

"I drink green juice every week, celery, lettuce, cucumber, cabbage. Sometimes I add honey or sugar, and it helps," Brown said, adding that as the condition continues to spread - it now affects roughly 35 per cent of his body, including his lips, ears, hands, feet, underarms and elbows - it is no longer something he fears.

"It's part of me and mi learn fi accept it," he said. Now, during Vitiligo Awareness Month, which is celebrated in June, Brown advocates for young men who rarely speak openly about the emotional impact of living with the condition. For those living with vitiligo, his advice is to never be ashamed.

"Be brave. Be bold. Respect yourself, and put yourself first. And share your experience, because it might help someone else."