A nurse who makes light of her blotchy skin condition by describing herself as a ‘human Oreo’ or ‘cow’ reveals she is sniggered at by children and asked if she is contagious.
Sharekia Winston, 31, from Richmond, Virginia, first developed white, pigment-free patches around her eyebrows two months after her eldest daughter Deniyla was born in July 2006, but initially dismissed the symptoms as just rash.
After being diagnosed with the skin condition vitiligo, Ms Winston, a nurse, endured cruel remarks from strangers, with some even asking if the disorder is contagious, causing her to pile on make-up every day to hide her patches.
Yet, Ms Winston has now ditched the make-up and regularly posts pictures of herself online using the hashtags #oreo, #cow and #moo.
She said: ‘To deal with the vitiligo, I started to joke about myself online. I’d say I accepted it, adding things like, “I have vitiligo and if you don’t like it… don’t look!” and “if you don’t know what vitiligo is, think of a cow or an Oreo biscuit!”
‘I am beautiful and the patches are part of me’.
Ms Winston, who describes herself as a ‘vitiligo advocate’, wishes to help others who have the skin condition.