SNAKE SKIN
Teenager cruelly called ‘snake lady’ due to rare condition that leaves her covered in SCALES
Floraine Nalugon, 17, suffers from lamellar ichthyosis, a rare condition that stops her skin shedding dead cells normally
A TEENAGER cruelly called snake lady has to smother her body in moisturiser every day because of a rare condition that leaves her covered in scales.
Floraine Nalugon, 17, suffers from lamellar ichthyosis, a rare condition that stops her skin shedding dead cells normally.
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She needs to constantly smear her body with moisturiser to stop it from hardening.
She said her bedding is covered in “scales” every morning when she wakes up and she rarely goes outside to avoid the cruel taunts from strangers.
Floraine from Bukindnon in the Philippines hopes to be treated by experts in Spain who are looking into her case.
She said: “When I was seven-years-old, my parents moved.
“Initially, I thought I could escape kids back home, who ridiculed me for my condition.
“My parents told me that I was conceived out of fish, that's why my skin looks like fish scales to some while to others it looks like snake skin.
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“It hurts me lot hearing other people making fun of me. My parents gave me the strength though.
“They showered me with love despite my physical deformities.”
Lamella ichthyosis causes Florence's skin to overgrow.
A PAINFUL CONDITION THAT CAUSES THE SKIN TO OVERGROW AND PEEL
Lamellar ichthyosis is a rare genetic skin disorder that affects less than one inn 200,000 people.
The skin cells are produced at a normal rate, but they do not separate normally at the surface of the outermost layer of skin and are not shed as quickly as they should be.
The result of this retention is the formation of scales.
Symptoms:
Signs of the condition will be present at birth.
Babies are often covered with a clean membrane and have dark red, tight skin.
Often the eyelids and lips are forced open by the tightness.
Babies also can experience problems with temperature regulation, water loss and secondary infections.
People with lamellar ichthyosis often have trouble closing their eyes completely because of the tightness of the skin around the eyes and eyelids.
In some cases, the skin around the eyes pulls so tightly it causes they eyelids to turn outward exposing the inner red lid and causing continuous irritation.
The dry skin builds up so much that suffers shed skin on a daily basis.
Treatment:
Lamellar ichthyosis is treated topically with skin barrier repair formulas containing ceramides or cholesterol, moisturizers with petrolatum or lanolin.
Severe lamellar ichthyosis can be treated systemically with oral synthetic retinoids.
Retinoids are only used in severe cases of lamellar ichthyosis due to their known bone toxicity and other complications.
There is no known cure, but several clinical studies are active around the world.
If left untreated her skin can harden and it can prevent her from moving.
She is also at a higher risk of infection due to the condition leaving her with open wounds in her skin if it cracks as it becomes dry and flaky.
Lamellar ichthyosis is a rare genetic skin disorder that affects less than one inn 200,000 people.
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The skin cells are produced at a normal rate, but they do not separate normally at the surface of the outermost layer of skin and are not shed as quickly as they should be.
The result of this retention is the formation of scales.
There is no known cure for the condition.
But symptoms can be managed using topical creams to repair the skin and protect it from drying out and cracking.
MORE ON SKIN CONDITIONS
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