21-Year-Old With Rare Trichoepithelioma Faces Relentless Street and Online Bullying

Oluwadamilare Joseph was diagnosed with trichoepithelioma at age six. This rare genetic condition causes tumours to grow from hair follicles. His family also lives with it, so he thought his skin was normal. Growing up in Cross River State, he faced daily abuse. Strangers made uneducated guesses about his face and assumed he had contagious diseases like monkeypox or chickenpox. He even skipped Fridays at school to cope with the discrimination. He built over 100,000 followers on TikTok to raise awareness, but trolls targeted his account. His page has been suspended three times after mass reporting. Strangers send him messages demanding he delete his profile and stay isolated. He says he only wants to educate people. “Some stop me on the street to ask questions that I have to live with for the rest of that week,” he explains.

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