What should you Do If Your Wife Gave Birth To An Albino?

When your wife has given birth to an albino, many people will want to tell you that a child with albinism is a child like any other. People will comfort you in your presence but in your absence they will have many questions to ask themselves including why people should avoid marrying from your family.

What causes albinism? And what are the chances of one having an albino child? An albino is a person who lacks normal pigmentation, resulting with the skin and hair being abnormally white or milky and the eyes with pink or blue iris and a deep-red pupil. True, albinism is hereditary. It is not an infectious disease. It cannot be transmitted through contact, blood transfusions, or other vectors. Albinism is caused when the main principal gene prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin. Too much melanin is found in black people living near the equator. Most forms of albinism come about as a result of the biological inheritance of genetically recessive genes passed from both parents of an individual. Some rare forms of albinism are inherited from only one parent. Albinism has no cure. All one can do is buy creams and medicines to apply on their skins to prevent skin cancer and early aging of skin.

Couples have been giving birth to albinos for as long as man has existed. Once a child is born and found to be an albino, the matter is taken as top secret and secretly the child is thrown to the mountains and wait to die there as the child is considered as demons and bearer of bad luck.

Those who are fortunate to survive this are kept indoors and out of society for the rest of their lives – they are not taken to school and neither are they to mix with other children.

As more and more people have become educated, it is now possible for an albino child to be educated and to make it in life just like the other children. But this is without discrimination and stigma.

If there is one thing that seems to puzzle man, it’s albinism. The question is usually asked: why do people, including university professors, believe in superstition? The church and other organizations seem to place a lot of attention to the blind people whilst being silent to the people with albinism - It is indeed very important that at this time and age the cultural myths and superstitions surrounding albinos should be changed by the society and they should accept them as they accept the blind people. After all, everyone is created by the same God.

In some countries, a fully grown albino is considered as ready money for the taking. The albinos are believed to bring wealth and good luck. All one need is to get hold of the albino person and chop off limbs and pluck out specific organs which are then sold to the local witch doctors for top dollars. This means that even those albinos who are lucky to have been educated can not walk around freely because if they did they risks being kidnapped for their body organs.

Next time your wife gives birth to an albino, this is the time to give the wife and the new born child maximum support and attention. An albino child is a child just like any other child and the society should stop considering albinos as bearers of bad luck, demons or holders of body parts that can be mixed with traditional medicines to make other people rich. Do not abandon your albino child at birth or fail to take the child to school.

Is albinism the same as vitiligo ?

Albinism may at times be mistaken for wide spread vitiligo but they are two absolutely different and unrelated disease entities.
A few of the major differences are, that Albinism is an inheritable disorder, and is present at the time of birth, while Vitiligo is an acquired auto immune disorder of the pigment which starts somewhere after birth. Albinism is a stable disorder which does not spread or improve, while Vitiligo can improve and worsen with treatment as well as on its own.
Albinism is of two types; one in which the whole body including the eyes, the retina, the skin and the hair, all melanin containing areas of the body are involved, and the other which affects only the eyes. Vitiligo on the other hand starts as a patchy disorder which can take many different shapes.

As far as the basic abnormality is concerned, albinism results from a biochemical defect in the making of melanin, while Vitiligo results from autoimmune destruction of the pigment producing cells, the melanocytes.

The most important difference however is that Vitiligo can be improved with treatment while Albinism can not!

source of info: http://www.antivitiligo.com/vitiligo/albinism-and-vitiligo.html

One of the differences between albinism and vitiligo is that complete albinism is present at birth and does not change significantly. Vitiligo is a depigmenting condition that is not usually apparent at birth but can appear at any stage of life. It progresses until most of the body resembles the skin of a person with albinism. Vitiligo does not cover the body completely. There will always be slight pigmentation somewhere on the body. People with vitiligo often cover up and even out the remaining pigmented areas with special make-up used for covering scars or various skin conditions.
"Vitiligo (vit-ill-EYE-go) is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin, the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose and genital and rectal areas), and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball) are destroyed. As a result, white patches of skin appear on different parts of the body. The hair that grows in areas affected by vitiligo usually turns white.
The cause of vitiligo is not known, but doctors and researchers have several different theories. One theory is that people develop antibodies that destroy the melanocytes in their own bodies. Another theory is that melanocytes destroy themselves. Finally, some people have reported that a single event such as sunburn or emotional distress triggered vitiligo; however, these events have not been scientifically proven to cause vitiligo.
About 1 to 2 percent of the world's population, or 40 to 50 million people, have vitiligo. In the United States, 2 to 5 million people have the disorder. Ninety-five percent of people who have vitiligo develop it before their 40th birthday. The disorder affects all races and both sexes equally.


The incidence of albinism in the world is said to be 1:17,000 to 1:20,000.The incidence is said to be higher in Indonesia but adequate research has not yet been undertaken.

Are persons with albinism blind?

No they are not but lack of pigment can lead to very low vision.

They also have:

Nystagmus which is pendular movements of the eye.

Photophobia which literally means fear of light

Typical red reflex in the papillary area.

Vision can be improved or preserved if a child with albinism receives medical care from an ophthalmologist early, before the age of 7 years.

However they may require assistance with large type text, high contrast written material, computers with large character display and copies of the teachers’ notes for close up reading.

Can children with Albinism attend regular schools?

Yes, children with albinism can attend regular schools

Albinism and life span

Albinism is associated with normal life span.

* It is an Autosomal Recessive genetic condition meaning the individual is born with albinism when both parents are carriers of the gene.
* A couple with normal pigmentation can have a child with albinism.
* A person with albinism can marry someone who is not a carrier of the gene and have children with normal pigmentation.
* 60%-70% of children with albinism so far are in single parent families(in all cases single mothers) or living with grandparents as women are often abandoned at the birth of a child with albinism. Genetic counseling is important when there is albinism in the family.

How can persons with albinism protect their skin?

Persons with albinism can protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun through wearing protective clothing such as shirts or blouses with long sleeves and hats, and using sun screen with a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF).


What is the sun protection factor (SPF) that persons with albinism need to protect their skin?

The higher the sun protection factor the better. Any sun screen with an SPF factor of 30 and above offers adequate protection. However, even with the use of sun screen, persons with albinism are advised not to stay too long in the sun.

The Albinism community in Indonesia is soliciting support from other ophthalmologists and optometrists to ensure that every person with albinism wears glasses with UV protection.

An outcry from Maybell,
I'm a mother of 8 years old boy who has albinism..I live in Indonesia, and in here we don't have capable doctors who care enough about albinism( from my experience ) I have taken my son to see OP in S'pore, and he said that there is nothing we can do to help him..He only gave a prescription for glasses, but my son doesn't want to use them..He says, it's useless....He also already had magnifyer, monocular, but he says they are all useless..is it true? I really don't know what to do, since he is now facing so many subjects at school, and find so many difficulties to follow all the subjects..however he is such a smart boy, and thank God for that..

I want to know, if all of your kids are the same..he can only see subjects in 1m distance..he has to put the books or tv so close ( aound 10cm distance) to see them better. He is so photopobic. Sometimes i cry when i see him like that..what should i do?

I don't know have any friends who has the same problem here...Please Mums all around the world..share with me..maybe you have therapist, what do they do to your kids? I need to learn..or whatever kind of tools which can help them better..

God Bless U All...

Maybelle
http://community.albinism.org/forums/p/10490/45054.aspx#45054