Facts About Living with Albinism

Living with albinism can bemost challenging; the health challenges of albinos arenumerous. Albinos are very susceptible to specific healthconditions, principally dermatological andophthalmic vulnerabilities, requiring higher levels of care and attention. Such care and attention are seldom availed Albinos in our conventional hospitals and other health care facilities.The radiation of the sun remains the most recurrent threat to albinos because of the fragility of their skin surface. Without educated care and attention, indiscriminate exposure to the sun can cause irreparable damage to the skin of the albino. High level exposure to sun light can lead to freckled skin and sun burns which could develop into skin cancer. The dermatological vulnerability of the skin of people living with albinism makes them more at risk of developing skin cancer. Research shows that skin cancer constitutes eighty percent (80%) of the health problems of people living with albinism. Other skin conditions include freckles, moles and seborrhoeickeratoses.

Vision impairment is also another peculiar challenge of albinos. A lack of ocular focus in the eyes of albinos presents a daunting challenge which affects their ability to see; thus, albinos require 6 times the regular amount of time to achieve ocular focus with their eyes. The reading capacity of albinos is ultimately challenged.