An Indian doctor with vitiligo shares his story

<p>"Growing up, my family sheltered and protected me with everything related to vitiligo. People never really asked me what happened to my skin. And, if I did get questions, I honestly did not know how to answer them, so I would say 'oh, they’re just sunburn scars' or some version of that story, and moved on. Thinking back, I probably was too supported and busy to really have an opportunity to be bothered by it. That, in itself, was a blessing. I pursued many years of schooling and training to ultimately become a practicing physician.</p> <p>Now that I’ve been in medicine for many years, I primarily value and cherish the connection with my patients, as I sincerely believe medicine is fundamentally about the human experience. But, when I hear statements like 'you don’t look Indian' from patients, I am constantly reminded each time that I have vitiligo. Reflecting on how best to answer this question, I ask myself if I should react and explain the skin condition, or just let it go. The truth is that the majority of the time, I do 'let it go' when it comes to discussing my skin condition with patients. I simply don’t want to explain to patients that I have vitiligo."</p> <p><a href= "https://providers.emoryhealthcare.org/provider/Dhaval+Rohit+Desai/778189" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dhaval Desai</a> is a hospitalist.</p> <p>He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-story-of-an-indian-doctor-with-vitiligo.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The story of an Indian doctor with vitiligo</a>." (<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-story-of-an-indian-doctor-with-vitiligo.html">https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-story-of-an-indian-doctor-with-vitiligo.html</a>)</p>