A young girl is facing living hell because of a rare disorder which makes her skin appear like stone.
Seven-year-old Rajeshwari, who lives in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, suffers from an incurable condition called ichthyosis which causes her skin to become scaly.
The rough blisters have covered her arms, legs and most of her back and make it painful for her to walk or even sit.
The seven-year-old lives in a tribal district in Dantewada and travelling to a nearby city for medical appointments is an additional burden.
Video footage shows Rajeshwari walking slowly and painfully into an enclosure with the scaly skin covering most of her body.
Her legs and arms are almost completely covered in blisters, including her hands and feet, with her stomach and most of her back also affected.
There is little health care available in the young girls district, meaning she has to travel into the city for medical attention.
Dr Yash Upender, a dermatologist from Dantewada Hospital, specified the condition as epidermolytic ichthyosis.
Ichthyosis is not usually life-threatening, but there is no cure and patients are likely to show the symptoms for life.
Medics say ichthyosis patients are also liable to suffer from overheating because of a reduced ability to sweat.
They are also vulnerable to infections because of cracks in their skin and may have impaired vision or hearing if skin builds up over their ears and eyes.
The condition is usually inherited from ones parents, but can also be acquired in connection with other health problems.
If a baby has inherited the condition, their skin will gradually become dry, rough and scaly - with symptoms showing before the age of one.
People with the condition may need to spend several hours a day caring for their skin, experts say.
Vitamin A tablets can help to improve the skins appearance, but do not improve the underlying inflammation.
Doctors in India say there have been few cases in the country which would assist research into Rajeshwaris condition.
There has not been any major breakthrough in terms of research. Currently, science has no cure for this ailment, said Dr Satyaki Ganguly of the All India Institute of Medical Science in Raipur.
SOURCE: Mailonline
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