Newly born baby that looks like a snake! Unbelievable!

If you are going to watch this, this is not for the faint-hearted.

A baby suffering a disease called Harlequin type ichthyosis

A Saudi family in Jeddah was in shock at the sight of their new born baby badly deformed by a genetic skin disease. The mother of seven girls who had wanted a boy claimed she had predicted she would give birth to a "snake" days before the delivery.

It is said that the baby was born in Jordan and she died after an hour.

But according to doctors, the baby had a severe genetic skin disease called Herlequin-type ichthyosis.

This disease causes the dermis to be around 10 times thicker than normal and grow at an exceptionally fast rate. At birth, the child’s whole body is encased in an ‘armour’ of thick white plates of skin, separated with deep cracks. 

In addition, the eyes, ears, penis, and the appendages may be abnormally contracted. 

Because of resultant cracked skin in locations where normal skin would fold, it is easily pregnable by bacteria and other contaminants, which can result in serious risk of fatal infection. Constant care is required to moisturise and protect the skin.

The harlequin-type designation comes from the diamond shape of the scales at birth (resembling the costume of Arlecchino), caused by severe hyperkeratosis. 

The disease can be diagnosed in the uterus by way of fetal skin biopsy or by morphologic analysis of amniotic fluid cells obtained by amniocentesis. 

Doctors can now usually recognize common features of the disease through ultrasound, and follow up with 3D ultrasound to diagnose the condition.

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