A child with a rare genetic skin disorder was born in Saudi Arabia
The media dubbed the baby "snake baby." This baby became the eighth child of a woman with seven daughters. Knowing in advance that the child was unwell, the woman decided to give birth to a son.
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Ichthyosis is a hereditary disease that manifests itself as a generalized violation of keratinization of the skin.
Congenital ichthyosis is expressed already at the birth of a child, it is subdivided into ichthyosis of the fetus and ichthyosiform erythroderma. Fetal ichthyosis is rare, inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, and develops in the III-V month of pregnancy. At birth, the baby's skin is covered with powerful horny layers, reminiscent of a tortoise shell or crocodile skin. The mouth opening is stretched, inactive, or, conversely, sharply narrowed. Children are often premature and not viable.
With ichthyosiform erythroderma, the skin at birth is covered with a thin dry yellowish film, resembling collodion, after rejection of which persistent diffuse hyperemia of the entire skin (including skin folds) and lamellar peeling are found, the severity of which increases with age, and erythroderma weakens.
There is also a bullous variety of congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma - epidermolytic ichthyosis, characterized by a more severe course with the formation of blisters. With congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma, eye damage (ectropion, blepharitis), dystrophy of nails, hair, keratosis of the palms and soles, damage to the nervous and endocrine systems are possible. The disease lasts a lifetime.