The little girl turning into stone: Seven-year-old suffers from incurable skin condition that makes her life 'a living hell'
- Seven-year-old Rajeshwari suffers from an incurable condition called ichthyosis
- The scaly skin has covered her arms, legs and most of her back and stomach
- It makes it hard for her to sit, walk or travel to a city for medical attention
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.
Seven-year-old Rajeshwari (pictured) suffers from a rare and incurable disorder called ichthyosis which makes her skin appear like stone
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 girl's district, meaning she has to travel into the city for medical attention.
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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.
The seven-year-old girl's incurable ichthyosis has caused her skin to become rough, dry and scaly, including all over her legs and feet (pictured)
The rough and scaly skin has spread across most of the seven-year-old girl's back and stomach
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 one's 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 skin's 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 Rajeshwari's 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.
The condition also heavily affects her arms, hands and stomach and makes it painful for her to sit, walk or travel to medical appointments
Ichthyosis is not usually life-threatening, but there is no cure and patients are likely to show the symptoms for life
