Kim Kardashian reveals one of her sons with Kanye West has rare skin condition vitiligo

The US reality star, who shares four children with rapper with ex-husband West opened up about their son’s diagnosis on the She MD podcast.

The 43-year-old influencer discussed the “hereditary” disease and revealed her own struggle with psoriasis. She revealed: “My son has an auto-immune disease and they said it’s hereditary and so we were trying to figure it out.”

She explained he “has vitiligo very mildly”, adding that it “came from my mom, went to me, and I passed it on in a different form to my son”. Adding that the condition was now “under control”.

Vitiligo is a long-term condition where pale white patches develop on the skin due to a lack of melanin, according to the NHS. Kardashian added: “I didn’t know anything about it, but having to learn about it and figuring out where it came from and that it’s hereditary and just learning more and being able to share that has been a blessing.”

She did not reveal whether it was her eight-year-old son Saint or five-year-old son Psalm who had been diagnosed with vitiligo. She also shares two daughters with West, North, 11, and six year-old Chicago.

The Skims creator also shared she discovered her own skin condition at the age of 30, while at a birthday party for her sister Kourtney’s son Mason, when she wore an itchy sequin dress.

She explained: “Mine came on when I was 30 years old and I remember it so clearly, because it was my nephew Mason’s birthday party. We were at my mum’s house and I remember I was wearing a short skirt, and I remember going out in New York, and I wore this silver sequin dress, and it was itchy, and I thought it was just a rash from the dress.

“Then I got home and saw my mum at the birthday party and she looked at my legs and goes, oh my god, you have psoriasis, and I said no I don’t, I just wore this really itchy dress. And she was like no you absolutely do.”

She said she temporarily stopped experiencing symptoms for the disease after getting a cortisone shot, but the psoriasis returned five years later and that she has “never gotten rid of it again”.

What is vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a long-term condition where pale white patches develop on the skin due to a lack of melanin. It can affect any area of skin, but it commonly happens on the face, neck and hands, and in skin creases, according to the NHS.

Dr Vinesh Mistry, NHS GP and doctor at One Day Tests explains vitiligo as: “a long-term condition causing patches of skin to became paler in colour”.

He continued: “There are several types of vitiligo, but usually it is classified as generalised (affecting both sides of the body) or segmental (affecting only one part or side of the body).”

Adding: “Vitiligo can affect people of any skin colour – not just people of darker skin tones or those with mixed race parents. The condition is also not associated with skin cancer either.”

You can find out more about signs, symptoms, accessing a diagnosis and treatment options for Vitiligo on NHS.UK.