Only one out of every six lakh newborns are Collodion babies. A genetic disorder where the baby will have an extra layer of skin that sheds like reptile scales.
A baby girl born in Amristar, in the Indian state of Punjab, has become the center of attraction in the region because the baby looks like a rubber doll with a skin that looks like a plastic. Scientifically such babies are called as Collodion babies, who have an extra layer of skin, which will be shed like reptile scales. A baby born with this type of skin happens in one out of six lakhs.
“It is a genetic disorder that occurs due to certain genes and is usually an autosomal recessive, congenital ichthyosis (scaly skin condition),” said Dr M S Pannu, Head, Department of Pediatrics at the hospital said, after examining the baby.
Babies with this genetic disorder might lose fluid and heat from their body through an extra layer of their skin, leading to hypothermia and dehydration.
Doctors at the Guru Nanak Dev Medical College and Hospital, where the baby was born, said, “The baby starts crying when someone touches her. She looks like a rubber doll and her face appears to be similar to that of a fish. Her eyes and lips are red hot. The baby is unable to suck properly.”
This is the second time when a baby is born with this condition in Amritsar, the first baby was born in 2014 but died within 3 days of birth.
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